mam 


EARTH 
SCIENCES 

LIBRARY 


OF   THE 

UNIVERSITY 

OF 


Hawaii  and  Its  Volcanoes . 


By  CHARLES   H.  HITCHCOCK,  LL.D. 

OF   DARTMOUTH   COLLEGE 


HONOLULU,  HAWAII 

THE  HAWAIIAN  GAZETTE  COMPANY.  LTD. 
1909 


EA8TK 

SCIENCES 

LIBRARY 


COPYRIGHT,    1909 
BY  THE  HAWAIIAN  GAZETTE  Co.,  LTD, 


ALL  RIGHTS  RESERVED 


Contents 

PAGE. 

Part  1.     Physiography  of  the  Hawaiian  Archipelago 1 

Part  2.     The  History  of  the  Exploration  of  Manna  Loa 56 

Part  3.     The   History   of   the   Exploration  of  Kilauea 160 

Part  4.     The  Hawaiian  Type  of  Volcanic  Action 262 

APPENDIX. 

PAGE. 

A.  Earthquakes   in    Hawaii    290 

B.  The  Place  of  Origin  of  the  Moon 296 

C.  Use   of   the   Spectroscope 297 

D.  Analyses   of  Hawaiian  Igneous  Roeks 298 

E.  Biographical    Notes    301 


List  of  Plates 

PAGE. 

Halemaumau  in   1894 Frontispiece 

1A.     Globigerina    Ooze    4 

IB.     Map   of   Midway  Islands    5 

2.  Birds  of  Laysan  Island    7 

3.  U.   S.   Bird  Reservation 8 

4A.    French  Frigate  Shoal    9 

4B.     Necker   Island,   South    Side 9 

5.  Relief  Map  of  Kauai 11 

6.  Relief  Map  of  Oahu 17 

7.  Kaala  from  the  East 18 

8.  Kaala  from  the  Southwest 18 

9A.     Map  and  Section  of  Diamond  Head 37 

9B.     Inside  of  Diamond  Head  and  Kupipikio 4C 

10.         Relief  Map  of  Maui 45 

11A.     Bird's-eye  View  of  Haleakala  47 

11B.     Inside    of    Haleakala 47 


iv 

PAGE. 

12A.  Summit  Plateau  of  Mauna  Kea 51 

12B.  Cinder  Cone  near  Summit  of  Mauna  Kea 51 

13.  View  of  Mauna  K;ea  from  Hilo 50 

14.  Map  of  Hawaii 48 

15.  View  of  Mauna  Loa  from  near  the  Volcano  House 56 

16A.  Camp  Wilkes,  Summit  of  Mauna  Loa 82 

16B.  Lava  Fountains,  Plow  of  1859 102 

17A.  Plan  of  Mokuaweoweo,  1841,  Wilkes 83 

17B.  Plan  of  Mokuaweoweo,  1873,  J.  M.  Lydgate 114 

17C.  Plan  of  Mokuaweoweo,  1885,  J.  M.  Alexander 123 

18.  Panorama  of  Mokuaweoweo,  Button 120 

19.  Lava  Flow  of  1887,  Kahuku 127 

20.  Cave    Showing   Stalactites   and    Stalagmites 119 

21.  Cinder  Cone  (Dewey),  1899 134 

22.  Mokuaweoweo  in  1903,  after  D.  Howard  Hitchcock 139 

23.  End  of  Lava  Flow  of  1907 142 

24A.  Eelief  Map  of  Mohokea  Caldera 149 

24B.  Lava  Flowing  into  Pool  of  Water,  1881 118 

25.  Tree  Mould    148 

26.  Distribution  of  Volcanic  Ashes  about  Kilauea 163 

27A.  Explosive  Eruption  from  Kilauea 165 

27B.  Belief  Map  of  Kilauea  in  1823 173 

28.  Kilauea  in  1840,  Drayton 191 

29.  Map  of  Kilauea  in  1841,  Wilkes  and  Dana 192 

30.  Map  of  Kilauea  in  1846 199 

31.  Map  of  Kilauea  in  1865,  Brigham 203 

32.  Lava  Adhering  .to   Trees,   1868 147,  211 

33.  Map  of  Kilauea  in  1874,  Lydgate 215 

34.  Panorama  of  Kilauea  in  1882,  Dutton 222 

35.  Halemaumau   in   1883    224 

36.  Halemaumau  After  the  Breakdown  of  1886 226 

37A.  Ground  Plan   of  Plate   36 226 

37B.  Ground  Plan  of  Halemaumau,  October^  1886 229 

38.  Sections  Across  Halemaumau,  1886-92 226 

39 A.  Ground  Plan  of  Halemaumau,  July,  1888 231 

39B.  Ground  Plan  of  Halemaumau,  August,  1892 235 


PAGE. 

40A.     View  of  Dana  Lake  in  1890 231 

40B.     View  of  Halemaumau  in  1892 235 

42.  View  of  South  Eim  of  Halemaumau  from  the  South 236 

43.  Ground  Plan  and  Section  of  Halemaumau,  July  30,  1894 240 

44A.     Plan  of  the  Cone  of  Halemaumau  by  A.  L.  Col&ten 244 

44B.     Plan  of  Halemaumau  by  E.  D.  Baldwin,  Dec.  26,  1906 251 

45.        View  of  Keanakakoi   289 

46A.     Rough  Plan  of  Fire     Lake  in  August,  1908 253 

46B.     Photographic  View  of  the  Same 253 

47A.     Volcano  House  about  1868 261 

47B.     Volcano    House   about    1872 261 

48A.     Schickard.      Phocylides    288 

48B.     Sinus    Iridium    288 

49.  Lunar  and  mundane  Craters  after  W.  H.  Pickering 288 

50.  Aa  from   the  Flow   of   1887 281 

51.  Pahoehoe  from  the  Flow  of  1881 280 

52.  Portraits  of  Titus  Coan,  J.  D.  Dana,  W.  L.  Green  and  S.  E. 

Bishop 302 


PREFACE: 

The  object  of  this  book  is  to  describe  correctly  the  phenomena 
connected  with  the  discharges  of  molten  lava  from  the  two  great 
Hawaiian  volcanoes — Kilauea  and  Mauna  Loa.  The  greater 
part  of  the  text  presents  the  statements  of  visitors  to  their  borders, 
descriptive  of  what  they  saw,  set  forth  in  chronological  order.  If 
there  is  some  repetition  of  views,  it  is  because  the  different  ob- 
servers came  to  similar  conclusions. 

It  is  presumed  that  all  the  Hawaiian  volcanoes  throughout  the 
archipelago  have  been  developed  in  a  similar  manner — starting 
at  the  bottom  of  the  ocean  there  has  been  an  outpouring  of  lava, 
gradually  accumulating  upwards.  If  the  supply  was  inadequate 
these  cones  lost  their  vitality  before  reaching  the  surface  of  the 
water.  In  other  cases  the  summits  became  the  low  coralline 
islands  composed  of  the  reefs  aggregated  by  the  labors  of  the  in- 
dustrious polypi.  To  illustrate  these  phases  of  development,  Part 
I  describes  the  Physiography  of  the  Archipelago,  alluding  both 
to  the  original  growth  and  the  later  imperfect  stocking  of  the 
islands  with  plants  and  animals.  It  has  been  convenient  also  to 
state  here  other  geological  facts  more  or  less  intimately  connected 
with  this  history. 

The  high  islands  have  been  built  up  above  the  sea-level  by  the 
subaerial  accumulation  of  basalt.  When  the  igneous  action  ceased, 
the  lengths  of  the  subsequent  periods  are  measured  by  the  amount 
of  erosion  effected.  If  the  time  has  been  long,  the  canyons  ex- 
cavated by  the  running  streams  will  be  numerous  and  deep:  if 
the  time  has  been  brief,  the  erosion  produced  has  been  correspond- 
ingly slight.  Hence  it  is  possible  to  speak  of  the  "Old"  and 
the  "New"  topography. 

Our  studies  especially  illustrate  the  peculiarities  of  the  Ha- 
waiian type  of  volcanic  action :  mostly  quiet,  partly  explosive, 
discharging  the  surplus  material  in  surface  flows,  but  more 
usually  as  a  break-down  into  unknown  interior  abysses.  The 
secret  of  the  fluidity  is  found  in  the  easy  fusibility  of  the  rock. 


Vlll 


It  is  hoped  that  this  treatise  will  contribute  materially  to  the 
solution  of  the  Volcanic  Problem.  A  deep-seated  source  of  the  heat 
seems  to  be  required,  which  acts  upon  water,  converting  it  into 
super-heated  steam.  Whether  this  moisture  comes  chiefly  from 
surface  streams,  the  ocean,  or  from  the  original  interior  magma 
of  the  earth  is  not  so  clear;  but  its  effect  in  urging  liquid  ma- 
terial upward  cannot  be  questioned.  Our  efforts  are  rewarded 
by  the  abundant  demonstration  of  this  upward  pressure.  How 
far  this  same  energy  will  explain  tectonic  earthquakes  and  the 
secular  elevation  of  large  terrestrial  areas  is  likewise  a  matter  for 
further  reflection. 

The  public  are  indebted  to  the  Hawaiian  Gazette  Company,  Ltd., 
for  its  liberality  in  providing  the  means  for  the  issuance  of  this 
volume.  Eastern  people  are  not  aware  of  the  existence,  upon  what 
are  sometimes  imagined  to  be  "cannibal  islands,"  of  such  an  exten- 
sive plant  for  the  speedy  manufacture  of  pamphlets,  books  and 
newspapers,  with  first-class  illustrations,  as  is  maintained  by^this 
Company.  While  the  title  intimates  a  subject  of  local  interest, 
scientists  will  find  that  the  facts  presented  are  an  important  factor 
in  the  discussion  of  world-wide  igneous  problems ;  and  tourists  can 
add  their  quota  of  observations  to  those  recorded,  for  it  is  true 
that  Kilauea  is  never  precisely  the  same  in  any  two  successive 
days. 

The  author  takes  this  opportunity  to  thank  the  many  gentlemen 
who  have  freely  assisted  him  in  the  attempt  to  elicit  correct  state- 
ments and  to  eliminate  everything  that  is  trivial  or  untrustworthy. 

CHARLES  H.  HITCHCOCK; 
Honolulu,  T.  H.,  May  3,  1909. 


r 


PART  I. 


Physiography  of  the  Hawaiian  Archipelago. 

The  Hawaiian  Archipelago,  "the  loveliest  fleet  of  islands  an- 
chored in  any  ocean,"  is  usually  described  as  consisting  of  eight 
high  inhabited  islands  with  a  N.  W.,  S.  E.  trend.  The  nautical 
charts,  however,  show  a  dozen  smaller  low  islands  and  shoals  situ- 
ated to  the  northwest  of  the  more  important  part  of  the  group, 
over  which  the  authority  of  the  territorial  government  is  now  ex- 
tended. The  archipelago  extends  over  twenty-five  degrees  of 
longitude,  or  about  1,800  miles.  The  following  table  presents 
their  names,  order,  areas  and  extreme  altitudes : 

LOW  ISLANDS  AND  REEFS. 

Ocean  Islands  . .. 10  feet 

Midway  Islands 57     " 

Gambia  Shoal 

Pearl  and  Hermes  Reefs 

Lisiansky  Island 50     " 

Laysan  Island 25     " 

Maro  Reef 

Dowsett's  Reef 

THE  LOWEST  OF  THE  HIGH  ISLANDS. 

Gardiner  Island  170  " 

French  Frigate  Shoal 120  " 

Necker  Island 300  " 

Frost  Shoal 

Nihoa  or  Bird  Island 903  " 

HIGH  INHABITED  ISLANDS.  Area  in 

Square  Miles 

Niihau 1,300  feet  97 

Cinder  cones  adjoining,  named  Kaula  and  Lehua. 

Kauai Waialeale 5,250  "  547 

Oahu Kaala 4,030  "  598 

Molokai Komokoa 4,95&  "  261 

Lanai 3,400  "  139 

Maui Haleakala    10,032  728 

Kahoolawe Moaulu  Hill   1,472  "  69 

Hawaii Mauna  Kea 13,825  "  4,015 


The  uninhabited  islands  have  an  area  estimated  at  six  square 
miles,  making  the  total  of  6,460. 

These  islands  are  partly  those  termed  low  and  those  called 
high.  The  first  may  be  swept  by  the  ocean  waves  in  times  of 
storms  or  may  be  simply  reefs  or  shoals.  Their  origin  may  have 
been  the  same  as  that  of  the  high  islands  which  are  supposed  to 
have  been  igneous  protrusions  from  the  bottom  of  the  ocean.  The 
low^islands  may  be  capped  by  coral  growth  which  commenced  ex- 
istence after  the  igneous  eruptions  had  ceased.  This  archipelago 
may  be  conveniently  divided  into  first,  the  low  islands  and  shoals, 
secondly  the  high  islands  below  1,000  feet  in  altitude  above  the 
sea  level,  and  thiftl  those  that  exceed  1,000  feet  above  the  sea 
with  their  satellites. 

The  'depth  of  the  ocean  adjacent  is  put  from  16,000  to  18,000 
feet  as  determined  by  soundings.  Adding  to  these  figures  the  ele- 
vations of  the  highest  volcanoes  on  Hawaii,  we  have  the  evidence 
of  the  existence  of  volcanoes  30,000  feet  high.  If  arranged  on  a 
line,  the  islands  of  this  archipelago  represent  a  row  of  conical 
peaks  from  18,000  to  30,000  feet. 

These  cones  must  be  very  blunt,  with  a  base  of  say  two  degrees 
upon  each  side,  or  four  degrees  for  16,000  feet  altitude,  which 
would  represent  an  incline  of  about  one  hundred  and  fifteen  feet 
to  the  mile.  This  corresponds  with  the  existing  visible  slope  of 
Mauna  Loa.  This  slope  is  so  gradual  that  one  can  hardly  realize 
that  the  mountain  is  nearly  14,000  feet  high,  when  viewed  from 
a  distance  of  thirty  miles ;  and  the  suggestion  that  the  steep  needles 
or  islands  might  be  overturned  by  earthquakes  is  surely  un- 
founded. These  islands  are  not  arranged  upon  a  single  line,  and 
the  soundings  prove  that  other  cones  are  scattered  indiscriminately 
about  the  archipelago  which  do  not  reach  the  surface  of  the  water. 
The  submarine  area  adjacent  to  these  islands  must  be  very  exten- 
sive, so  much  so  as  to  suggest  the  existence  of  Tertiary  strata 
through  which  the  volcanoes  have  eaten  their  way. 

Many  authors  believe  that  Ocean  islands  represent  the  first  of 
these  volcanoes  to  commence  eruption,  followed  by  the  rest  of  the 
first  group  and  by  the  higher  islands  successively.  Kilauea  is 
the  last  because  that  is  now  an  active  volcano,  and  should  another 
grand  volcanic  display  be  manifested  in  the  future,  it  will  be 
located  to  the  southeast  of  Hawaii.  This  theory  is  probably  cor- 
rect in  the  general  way ;  supplementary  details  may  be  suggested 
by  the  descriptions  in  Oahu,  Maui  and  Hawaii. 

The  charts  published  by  the  Hydrographic  Office  of  the  Navy 
Department  of  the  most  remote  low  islands  of  the  Hawaiian 
Archipelago  were  prepared  from  observations  made  by  the  officers 


of  the  U.  S.  steamer  Lackawanna  in  I&6?.1  The  others  have  been 
explored  by  European  navigators.  This  series  is  extensively 
used  by  mariners  in  the  mid-Pacific,  and  the  sailing  directions  are 
being  constantly  perfected,  chiefly  by  the  Navy  Department  of  the 
United  States. 

In  1899  the  U.  S.  S.  Nero,  under  the  direction  of  Lieut.  Com- 
mander H.  M.  Hodges,  was  fitted  up  with  the  necessary  apparatus 
to  take  soundings,  observe  the  temperatures  and  the  character  of 
the  sea  bottom  between  Honolulu  and  the  Philippines  by  the  way 
of  Guam,  and  this  was  for  the  determination  of  the  proper  route 
for  a  telegraphic  cable.  I  will  mention  the  principal  matters  of 
interest  ascertained  along  this  line  between  Honolulu  and  Mid- 
way, where  a  cable  office  has  been  established.  ' 

The  route  lay  on  the  eastern  side  of  the  archipelago,  a  distance 
of  1,184  miles.  Leaving  Oahu  the  depth  increased  quite  rapidly 
until  it  reached  2,50x3  fathoms,  at  a  distance  due  north  of  thirty 
miles.  The  line  led  along  a  plain  from  2,500  to  3,000  fathoms 
in  depth,  save  that  there  were  two  or  three  outlying  peaks  rising 
half-way  or  more  to  the  surface.  The  average  temperature  of  the 
surface  water  was  73.2°  Fah. ;  of  the  bottom  about  35°. 

The  pelagic  deposits  were  chiefly  Red  clay,  Volcanic  mud  and 
Globigerina  ooze.  The  first  is  the  most  extensive,  being  a  smooth, 
sticky  mud,  from  light  yellowish  brown  to  dark  chocolate  in  color, 
and  composed  of  clay,  calcareous  and  siliceous  organisms,  mineral 
fragments  of  volcanic  origin,  and  various  products  of  local  chemical 
formation,  as  nodules  of  manganese  peroxide,  crystals  of  phillips- 
ite  and  particles  of  palagonite.  The  teeth  of  sharks  and  fish  were 
not  found  in  this  section.  The  least  depth  at  which  the  red  clay 
was  found  was  2,010  fathoms.  This  material  is  supposed  to  have 
been  derived  largely  from  the  pumice  blown  out  from  volcanoes 
and  carried  over  all  the  oceans  by  currents.  When  thoroughly 
soaked  it  sinks  and  changes  its  color. 

The  volcanic  mud  consists  of  pumice,  glass,  ashes  and  the 
debris  of  volcanic  rocks,  more  or  less  mixed  with  organisms  at 
great  depths.  It  has  been  derived  from  the  volcanic  masses  of 
the  several  islands  adjacent,  and  thus  passes  into  the  terrigenous 
deposits.  The  most  abundant  constituent  is  the  glass,  occurring 
as  threads,  masses  from  which  the  fibres  were  drawn  6ut  and 
angular  transparent  fragments.  Red  palagonite  is  more  common 
in  this  than  in  any  other  pelagic  deposit. 

The  Globigerina  ooze  contains  over  30  per  cent,  of  calcium 
carbonate  in  the  form  of  minute  shells  of  foraminifera,  of  which 

1  Senate  Documents,  40th  Congress,  2d  Session,  Ex.  Doc.  No.  79. 


4 

the  most  common  is  that  from  which  the  name  is  given.  The 
animals  swarm  in  the  waters  above  2,200  fathoms  and  the  dead 
shells  accumulate  at  the  bottom  of  the  sea.  Some  idea  of  their 
appearance  may  be  learned  by  inspecting  Plate  lA,  showing  the 
cast  shells  considerably  magnified.  When  alive  the  surface  of  the 
sphere  is  covered  by  numerous  spines  suggestive  of  chestnut  burrs, 
except  that  they  are  of  very  uneven  lengths.  When  this  ooze  is 
Brought  to  the  surface  and  is  solidified,  it  becomes  chalk. 

No  one  can  satisfactorily  estimate  the  thickness  of  these  pelagic 
deposits.  They  must  have  been  accumulating  for  several  geo- 
logical periods.  Because  of  the  presence  of  large  amounts  of 
calcium  carbonate  in  the  ocean  of  organic  origin,  the  water  has 
dissolved  as  much  of  that  mineral  as  it  will  carry  and  also  abounds 
in  carbonic  acid,  which  assists  in  dissolving  other  substances  than ' 
calcium. 

Certain  other  deposits  common  in  other  parts  of  the  ocean — as 
the  Diatom  and  Radiolarian  oozes  and  the  Blue  and  Green  muds — 
are  wanting  in  the  materials  brought  up  from  the  bottom  along 
the  line  between  Honolulu  and  Midway. 

THE  LOW  ISLANDS. 

The  Ocean  Islands  are  the  most  remote  of  the  group,  touching 
longitude  178°  30',  being  very  nearly  the  antipodes  of  Green- 
wich. It  is  a  small  sandy  area  about  one  mile  square  inside  of 
and  nearly  touching  the  coralline  rim  of  about  sixteen  miles  cir- 
cuit. On  the  west  side  there  is  a  gap  of  a  mile,  but  the  water  is 
too  shallow  at  the  entrance  and  the  interior  to  permit  of  the  in- 
gress of  seagoing  vessels.  The  area  must  be  about  thirty-eight 
square  miles.  Another  name  is  Cure;  also  the  inside  island  is 
called  Green.  The  shrubbery  is  better  developed  than  upon 
Midway.  There  are  also  inconspicuous  bare,  sandy  islands  in 
the  lagoon,  ten  feet  in  height.  Upon  the  "Sand  Island"  the 
Lackawanna  party  found  the  trunk  and  roots  of  a  large  tree,  prob- 
ably coniferous,  drifted  from  the  American  continent.  Both  Ocean 
and  Midway  Islands  afford  convenient  conditions  for  the  es- 
tablishment of  rookeries  by  numerous  albatross,  tropic  birds,  man- 
of-war,  hawks  and  gulls,  and  a  few  curlew  and  plover.  Turtle, 
seal  and  fish  also  abounded. 

The  Midway  Islands  closely  resemble  the  Ocean.  There  are  the 
same  two  kinds,  the  one  shrubby  and  the  other  sandy,  with  a 
larger  coralline  rim.  Originally  they  were  called  Brooks  Islands, 
from  their  discoverer,  Captain  N.  C.  Brooks  of  the  Hawaiian 
bark  Gambia,  in  1859.  The  coral  rim  is  eighteen  miles  in  circuit, 


PLATE  1 


A.     Globigerina  Ooze.         x  15 


MIDWAY  ISLANDS 

Nautical  Mile,s 


B.     Map  of  Midway  Islands. 


with  a  gap  of  four  miles  upon  the  west  side,  where  several  breakers 
remain.  The  rim  is  a  compact  coral  wall,  five  feet  high,  and  from 
six  to  twenty  feet  in  width.  The  entrance  to  the  harbor  is  about 
a  mile  wide,  with  a  depth  of  three  fathoms.  To  the  north  of  the 
two  islands  is  a  lagoon  from  four  to  eight  fathoms  in  depth,  con- 
nected with  the  harbor  by  shallow  water  a  mile  wide.  The  total 
area  of  the  atoll  is  about  forty  square  miles.  The  most  important 
feature  is  the  presence  of  two  islands  within  the  rim,  named  Sand 
and  Eastern.  The  one  composed  of  sand  adjoins  the  harbor,  one 
and  a  half  miles  long,  three-quarters  of  a  mile  wide,  chiefly  com- 
posed of  broken  coral,  shells  and  sand,  and  reaches  an  altitude 
of  fifty-seven  feet.  Occasional  clumps  of  shrubs  and  a  few  patches 
of  grass  were  to  be  seen  at  the  first,  but  must  now  have  partly  dis- 
appeared since  its  occupation  as  a  cable  station.  The  other  island 
nearly  touches  the  outer  rim,  is  one  and  a  quarter  miles  long, 
one-half  mile  wide,  of  uniform  elevation  from  six  to  fifteen  feet, 
covered  with  small  shrubs,  a  few  vines  and  coarse  grass.  The 
beach  is  of  dazzling  brightness.  Water  is  found  at  the  depth  of 
four  to  seven  feet  upon  both  islands,  which  is  free  from  organic 
impurities,  but  contains  enough  lime  to  place  it  in  the  category 
of  "hard  water,"  besides  more  than  the  average  content  of  salt 
than  is  seen  upon  the  upland.  Considerable  labor  has  been  ex- 
pended in  the  erection  of  the  buildings  necessary  for  a  cable  sta- 
tion and  the  improvement  of  the  harbor.  It  was  first  occupied 
for  this  purpose  in  1902. 

There  are  four  or  five  main  buildings  of  reinforced  concrete 
consisting  of  the  plant  necessary  for  the  cable  service,  the  house 
of  the  superintendent,  the  quarters  for  the  staff,  apartments  for 
general  use,  and  buildings  for  employees.  Everything  necessary 
for  the  comfort  of  the  men  living  in  such  an  isolated  locality  is 
abundantly  supplied  by  the  Cable  Company.  Plate  i  B  is  a  map  of 
the  several  Midway  Islands  from  the  latest  Government  surveys. 
The  large  ring  is  a  typical  coral  atoll  with  a  harbor  upon  the 
west  side  and  deeper  water  in  the  central  part  than  near  the  out- 
side. Except  the  larger  Sand  Island  the  other  islets  may  be  swept 
by  the  ocean  when  the  unusual  storms  prevail. 

In  1885  a  sixty  ton  schooner,  Captain  Bohn,  left  Yokohama  in 
August  and  was  driven  far  away  from  its  course  by  storms,  and 
reached  Midway  Island  in  November  considerably  damaged. 
There  were  twenty-seven  persons  aboard,  and  they  remained  here 
till  March  8,  1886,  the  island  furnishing  plenty  of  food,  as  was 
said,  enough  for  a  three  years  cruise.  The  drifted  logs  must  have 
furnished  material  for  the  needed  repairs  to  the  schooner.  The 


seen  upon  the  islands  as  six  to  eight  millions,  of  which  the  terns 
are  the  most  numerous,  followed  by  the  albatross,  two  millions.  It 
is  the  breeding  place  of  these  creatures,  a  rookery.  Allowing  half 
a  pound  of  fish  for  food  to  each  albatross,  they  must  consume  five 
hundred  tons  daily.  The  eggs  are  laid  in  late  January  or  early 
February,  and  the  young  are  equipped  with  adult  plumage  and 
ability  to  take  long  flight  by  the  end  of  September.  For  ten 
months  of  the  year  these  birds  live  at  Laysan,  not  wandering  far 
from  their  breeding  ground. 

"Much  of  interest  could  be  said  concerning  the  guano  deposits 
and  the  operations  of  the  company  that  lease  the  island.  Thou- 
sands of  tons  are  exported  annually,  and  it  is  entirely  possible  that 
this  valuable  fertilizer  is  now  being  deposited  as  rapidly  as  ever 
it  was,  owing  to  the  wise  policy  of  not  disturbing  the  birds  that 
is  rigidly  enforced  by  the  company.  The  excrement  is  almost  en- 
tirely fluid,  and  gradually  saturates  and  fills  the  thin  soil  and 
porous  coral  rock,  thus  making  the  'guano'  of  commerce. 
Strangely  enough,  there  is  no  very  perceptible  odor,  even  at  the 
rookery. 

"The  naturalists  of  the  Albatross  spent  a  week  in  studying  the 
fauna  and  flora  of  this  exceedingly  interesting  island,  while  the 
naval  officers  made  a  complete  map,  including  a  chart  of  the  reefs 
near  the  anchorage.  Here  are  found  unexcelled  conditions  for 
collecting  and  studying  the  life  histories  of  birds.  All  the  species 
are  very  abundant  and  can  be  seen  in  a  day's  visit.  Every  species 
can  be  caught,  either  in  the  hand  or  with  a  hand  net,  and  merci- 
fully killed  with  chloroform  without  mutilation  or  blood  stains. 
They  can  all  be  studied  at  leisure,  and  at  close  range.  The 
photographer  finds  himself  in  a  veritable  paradise,  able  to  set  up 
his  camera  at  any  desirable  distance,  even  to  'pose'  his  subjects  to 
suit  his  fancy,  and  take  pictures  of  birds'  nests  and  young  to  his 
heart's  content. 

"It  is  simply  delightful  to  find  one  spot  at  least  in  this  world  of 
ours  where  the  birds  are  not  afraid.  So  long  as  the  guano  holds 
out  those  conditions  will  probably  remain  unchanged.  If  this 
time  comes  to  an  end,  the  Government  should  see  to  it  that  this 
wonderful  preserve  of  avian  life  is  protected  from  the  ravages  of 
man,  the  destroyer,  and  of  the  rapidly  diminishing  moiety  of  his 
better  half  that  still  persists  in  the  aboriginal  feather-wearing 
habit."  3 

Thousands  of  eggs  are  gathered  here  from  time  to  time  which 
are  used  in  the  manufacture  of  albumen. 


C.  C.  Nutting,  in  Popular  Science  Monthly,  Vol.  LXIII. 


8 


One  of  the  closing  acts  of  President  Roosevelt's  administration 
was  the  setting  apart  of  eight  islands  of  the  archipelago  as  a 
reservation  for  the  protection  of  the  native  birds,  as  here  shown : 


PLATE  4. 


A.     French  Frigate  Shoals. 


B.     Necker  Island,  south  side. 


9 

THE  LOWEST  OF  THE  HIGH  ISLANDS. 

Gardiner  Island  is  a  cone  one  hundred  and  seventy  feet 

n^^fl^fSnf^ffffies  in  diameter.     At  the  base  there  is  a  cliff 


encircling  the  island,  sixty  or  seventy  feet  high,  made  by  the  dash- 
ing of  the  waves  against  the  rock.  On  the  east  side  there  is  an 
additional  small  mass  of  land. 

French  Frigate  Shoal  is  shaped  somewhat  like  one's  boot. 
There  are  hve  sand  spits,  always  dry,  near  the  northern  end.  The, 
enclosed  area  is  full  of  rocks  and  banks  mostly  submerged  and 
separated  by  deep  holes.  The  largest  islet,  Plate  4A,  is  a  basaltic 
rock  one  hundred  and  twenty  feet  high,  and  is  situated  on  the 
inside  of  the  reef  less  than  three  miles  distant.  The  area  of  the 
shoal  is  from  twenty-five  to  thirty  square  miles.  The  water  is 
seventy-two  feet  deep  a  short  distance  away  from  the  rock. 

The  Maro  Reef  is  of  quadrangular  shape  about  twenty-two  and 
five-tenths  square  miles  in  extent.  There  is  nothing  visible  but 
breakers,  which  are  very  low  and  the  reef  is  a  most  dangerous  one 
for  the  mariner  to  encounter. 

Necker  Island  has  much  the  same  shape  as  the  French  Frigate 
Shoal.  TBeTitghest  peak  is  three  hundred  feet  high.  The  island 
is  seven-tenths  of  a  mile  long,  bounded  by  the  usual  cliff  made  by 
the  waves.  The  widest  part  is  five  hundred  feet.  The  top  is 
undulating,  with  some  soil.  There  seems  to  be  a  landing  place 
on  the  inner  angle  of  the  foot.  Quite  an  extensive  shoal  sur- 
rounds the  island,  represented  by  one  authority  as  being  prin- 
cipally upon  the  south  side.  Necker  Island  is  surrounded  by  shal- 
low water,  eighty-four  feet  deep  at  the  distance  of  one  mile  from 
the  shore.  Plate  46  shows  the  south  side  of  the  island. 

NIHOA  OR  BIRD  ISLAND. 


Our  information  about  this  island  is  derived  from  two  reports 
made  by  Dr.  S.  E.  Bishop  in  connection  with  a  large  excursion 
party  from  Honolulu,  July  20-22,  1885.  The  Princess  Liliuoka- 
lani,  afterwards  the  Queen,  took  the  direction  of  affairs.  The  party 
numbered  between  two  and  three  hundred  people,  including  Dr. 
Bishop  as  surveyor  and  geologist,  Hon.  S.  B.  Dole  ornithologist, 
James  Williams  photographer.  Landing  was  effected  with  some 
difficulty  and  because  the  sea  rose  during  the  forenoon  it  was  less 
easy  to  reembark  in  the  small  boats  carrying  the  people  and  their 
effects  to  the  steamer.  The  island  was  densely  crowded  with  the 
nests  of  birds  estimated  to  be  2,500  to  the  acre,  which  would  make 
half  a  million  nests  and  twice  as  many  birds.  Being  disturbed 
by  the  visitors,  the  adult  birds  rose  in  enormous  clouds,  leaving 


10 

their  eggs  and  young,  usually  a  single  one  in  each  nest.  Survey- 
ing was  carried  on  industriously  till  all  at  once  a  fire  broke  out, 
and  because  the  surface  was  covered  with  dry  grass  and  twigs  a 
dense  smoke  arose  rendering  it  impossible  to  take  observations, 
and  everybody  scrambled  back  to  the  steamer.  The  island  is  very 
like  the  rocks  in  other  regions  which  furnish  guano,  and  doubt- 
less is  capable  of  furnishing  a  considerable  amount  of  fertilizing 
materials. 

Though  his  observations  were  interrupted  by  the  fire,  Dr.  Bis- 
hop has  described  succinctly  the  main  features  of  the  geology  and 
topography.  He  says : 

"The  extreme  length  of  Nihoa  from  W.N.W.  to  E'.S.E.  is  not 
far  from  5,200  feet.  Its  average  width  is  about  2,000  feet,  giving 
an  area  of  about  two  hundred  and  fifty  acres.  Four-fifths  of  this 
is  a  very  steep  grassy  slope,  the  rest  precipices.  I  did  not  see 
enough  level  ground  to  build  a  native  hut  upon  without  terracing. 
The  general  contours  are  much  like  those  of  Punchbowl  towards 
Waikiki,  save  that  the  ridges  tend  inward  instead  of  radiating  out- 
ward." 

The  N.E.  pinnacle,  which  overhangs,  is  eight  hundred  and 
sixty-nine  feet  high;  the  higher  N.W.  pinnacle  is  nine  hundred 
feet;  both  subject  to  correction  for  from  ten  to  twenty  feet.  As 
to  the  geology,  Nihoa  is  the  small  remaining  portion  of  an  ex- 
tremely eroded  and  deeply  submerged  volcanic  dome  homologous 
w.ith  the  larger  islands  which  still  survive  in  their  various  stages 
of  present  upbuilding,  recent  extinction  of  volcanic  activity,  less 
or  more  advanced  erosion,  and  slighter  or  deeper  subsidence. 
Nihoa  was  probably  a  more  ancient  crater  than  Kauai.  It  seems 
to  be  a  pair  of  clinkery  pinnacles  out  of  the  inner  core  of  a  once 
mighty  dome  which  has  been  eaten  down  by  winds  and  rains  for 
thousands  of  feet  and  during  unreckoned  ages. 

Several  parallel  basaltic  dikes  cut  the  island  from  end  to  end 
and  from  summit  to  base,  perhaps  forty  or  fifty  in  number.  Dr. 
Bishop  infers  from  the  great  number  of  these  dikes  a  very  pro- 
tracted period  of  igneous  activity.  The  island  may  have  been 
like  Oahu  or  Maui  originally,  losing  its  substance  partly  by 
erosion  and  partly  by  submergence  till  only  a  small  remnant  is  left. 

THE  HIGH  INHABITED  ISLANDS. 

The  first  of  the  inhabited  islands  met  with  in  proceeding  south- 
easterly is  Niihau,  fifteen  miles  west  of  Kauai.  It  is  eighteen 
miles  long,  eight  miles  in  its  widest  part,  and  has  an  area  of 
ninety-seven  square  miles.  There  seems  to  be  a  central  high  por- 


PLATE  5. 


KAUAI 

Anoi«$?atu<«S<tuar*  Hil.s  5*7 

htond    TwanUj-fW*  Miles  Acre 5 • 
5*5o  F«et 
DiSJaf)c»  from  Honolulu  93  Mi|« 


Relief  Map  of  Kauai. 


II 

tion  called  Kaeo  and  a  lower  plain  on  three  sides.  The  higher 
part  is  irregular,  destitute  of  sharp  peaks  and  narrow  ridges. 
The  side  towards  Kauai  is  precipitous.  About  two-thirds  of  the 
island  is  comparatively  low,  of  coral  origin,  and  is  the  region  that 
is  inhabited. 

The  map  shows  quite  a  large  pond  to  the  south  of  Kaeo,  and 
smaller  ponds  and  artificial  reservoirs  in  other  sections.  The 
little  island  has  had  a  rather  romantic  history.  It  has  now 
been  owned  for  forty  years  past  by  Mr.  George  S.  Gay.  The 
family  includes  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Gay  and  several  children,  who  ex- 
cept for  an  occasional  guest,  seldon  saw  any  of  their  own  race 
previous  to  our  occupancy  of  the  group.  Mr.  Gay  made  a  com- 
fortable fortune  on  the  island,  of  which  he  was  the  sole  owner. 
The  island  is  a  great  sheep  ranch,  embracing  about  70,000  acres, 
with  a  native  population  of  178,  all  that  remains  of  nearly 
1,000  natives  who  inhabited  it  sixty  years  ago. 

It  would  seem  that  here,  if  anywhere,  the  conditions  were  favor- 
able for  the  perpetuity  of  the  native  race.  Mr.  Gay  did  every- 
thing in  his  power  to  preserve  the  aborigines  from  the  evils  at- 
tendant upon  civilization ;  but  in  spite  of  his  efforts  they  have  been 
rapidly  dying  out,  just  as  their  brethren  in  all  other  parts  of  the 
island  group  have  been  dwindling  away. 

There  are  two  small  cinder  cones  adjacent  to  Niihau,  Kaula 
upon  the  east  and  Lehtta  upon  the  west  side.  The  first  is  about 
the  size  and  shape  of  Punchbowl  cut  in  two,  and  the  lower  half 
destroyed  by  waves.  The  concentric  structure  of  the  yellow  cin- 
ders, much  like  the  surface  of  the  lower  Koko  Head,  is  very 
obvious.  Lehua  proves  to  be  a  similar  remnant,  less  eroded,  as  it 
has  maintained  about  two  hundred  degrees  of  its  circumference 
instead  of  the  one  hundred  and  forty  degrees  of  Kaula.  Both 
these  crater  cones  have  the  western  or  leeward  sides  the  highest, 
because  the  trade  winds  drive  the  falling  rain  of  ashes  and  lapilli 
in  the  direction  of  the  air  movement,  building  up  a  compact 
laminated  pile  of  material  to  the  leeward.  The  subsequent  erosion 
by  the  waves  will  fashion  a  crescent  shaped  island  opening  to  the 
winds  and  surges  upon  the  northeast  side. 

KAUAI. 

Kauai  is  the  "Garden  Island"  of  the  archipelago  because  the 
rocks  have  been  disintegrated  into  soils  more  effectually  than 
elsewhere.  The  relief  map  by  W.  T.  Pope  of  the  Normal  School 
has  been  reduced  in  the  photograph  to  about  one-fifth  of  its  ori- 
ginal dimensions,  Plate  5,  and  shows  well  the  principal  physio- 


12 

graphic  features.  The  shape  is  between  circular  and  quadrangu- 
lar, over  twenty-five  miles  in  diameter,  with  an  extension  of 
swampy  and  low  marine  ground  upon  the  west  side.  No  very 
extensive  explorations  have  been  made,  but  we  have  the  statement 
by  Professor  J.  D.  Dana  in  the  Report  of  the  United  States  Ex- 
ploring Expedition,  1840,  that  the  layers  of  basalt  are  thicker  in 
the  center  and  dip  outwardly  toward  the  sea  in  all  directions. 
Waialeale  is  the  highest  point  in  the  island,  5,250  feet,  obtusely 
pointed,  covered  by  bogs,  wet  most  of  the  time  and  very  rarely 
visited,  certainly  by  no  scientific  person,  so  far  as  the  records  go. 
The  principal  streams  start  from  near  the  summit :  three  of  them 
entering  Hanalei  Bay  upon  the  north,  one  flowing  on  the  east 
through  Lihue,  two  to  the  south.  The  McBryde  Sugar  Planta- 
tion derives  power  for  its  operations  from  an  artificial  waterfall 
upon  the  Wainiha  stream  only  one  and  a  half  miles  from  Hanalei 
Bay.  The  water  is  taken  from  the  stream  at  an  elevation  of 
seven  hundred  feet,  is  carried  in  a  ditch  for  four  and  one-half 
miles,  and  falls  five  hundred  and  sixty-five  feet  to  the  wheels.  The 
power  is  conveyed  by  a  pole-line  for  thirty-four  miles  over  rough 
mountain  ranges  considerably  to  the  east  of  the  Wainiha  to  the 
mill. 

Hanalei  Bay  upon  the  north  shore  seems  to  be  a  drowned  val- 
ley, as  the  intervale  extends  miles  up  the  stream,  like  the  broad 
low  plains  near  the  mouths  of  large  streams  in  more  northern  lati- 
tudes. On  the  opposite  shore  is  the  Hanapepe  valley  entering  a 
bay  in  a  similar  manner,  and  is  spoken  of  as  one  of  the  most  ex- 
tensive and  beautiful  upon  the  island.  Nawilili  Bay  upon  the 
southeast  is  the  principal  landing  place  for  visitors  from  Oahu, 
and  it  seems  to  skirt  the  edge  of  a  plateau  two  hundred  or  three 
hundred  feet  high.  The  Wailua  River  has  a  noted  cataract  upon 
it  two  and  a  half  miles  from  the  sea.  The  smaller  streams  are 
generally  nearly  closed  by  bars  of  coral  sand. 

The  distinction  between  the  windward  and  leeward  sides  is  very 
plain,  as  made  known  by  the  erosion.  It  is  emphasized  upon  the 
Government  map  by  the  primary  division  into  the  two  districts  of 
Puna  and  Kona.  Lihue,  Kawaihau  and  Hanalei  show  a  greater 
amount  of  denudation  than  the  slopes  of  Waimea,  and  in  this  last 
region  the  contrast  in  the  amount  of  excavation  is  very  great  be- 
tween the  two  sides  of  the  Waimea  River,  the  west  side  being  a 
cliff  and  the  east  a  gradual  slope  from  the  dividing  range  seven  or 
eight  miles  distant.  There  must  be  a  small  wind-gap  where  the 
road  from  Hanalei  passes  over  the  divide  to  the  Waimea,  whose 
altitude  is  4,525  feet  and  bears  the  name  of  Kilohana.  Sugar 
plantations  adjoin  the  coast  on  every  side  except  the  northwest, 


13 

Napali,  where  cliffs  from  one  to  two  thousand  feet  high  constitute 
the  shore  line. 

Between  Nawilili  and  Anahola  Bays  there  is  an  extensive  plain 
from  two  hundred  to  three  hundred  feet  high  cut  down  through 
soft  material  forming  canyons  for  the  rivers.  The  earlier  authors  , 
ascribed  this  material  to  the  decay  of  the  basalts,  which  came  from 
ancient  volcanoes  in  the  interior.  Many  of  the  layers  seem  to  be 
the  result  of  decay,  as  they  are  filled  with  the  concentric  boulder- 
like  masses  somewhat  related  to  the  columnar  structure ;  but  inter- 
bedded  with  them  are  layers  of  earth  better  comparable  with  vol- 
canic ashes  which  may  also  cover  the  surface.  It  is  not  strange 
that  ashes  should  present  the  slight  inclinations  of  from  one  to  five 
degrees  commonly  noted  here.  The  relief  map  shows  in  Lihue 
one  large  volcanic  cone,  Kilohana,  nearly  a  mile  in  diameter,  and 
other  smaller  ones.  Why  have  not  those  plains  been  made  up  of 
the  ejections  from  the  several  secondary  volcanoes,  like  alluvial 
fans,  rather  than  from  the  older  ones  discharging  lava?  The 
prevalence  of  volcanic  ashes  has  been  proved  for  the  active  and 
extinct  vents  in  Hawaii  and  Oahu,  and  should  surely  be  looked  for 
upon  any  of  the  other  islands.  Their  recency  would  seem  to  be 
proved  by  the  steep  walls  of  the  canyons  in  the  loose  materials. 
There  would  therefore  seem  to  be  two  classes  of  volcanic  dis- 
charges in  Kauai,  first  the  underlying  basalts  making  up  the  great 
dome  of  Waialaele,  and  second  many  secondary  craters,  situated 
upon  the  flanks  and  eroded  basins  of  the  earlier  lavas,  and  repre- 
senting an  inferior  degree  of  activity. 

Crossing  the  Wailua  River  is  a  ridge  several  hundred  feet 
high  less  than  a  mile  back  from  the  shore,  rising  abruptly  above 
the  plain.  This  would  naturally  represent  one  of  the  older  lavas. 
Back  of  Anahola  a  similar  wall  is  pointed  out,  where  a  hole  has 
been  worn  through  the  hill. 

Professor  Dana  suggests  the  possibility  of  the  presence  of  a 
second  principal  dome  to  account  for  the  greater  elevation  of  the 
land  in  Napali  on  the  shore  opposite  to  Niihau.  The  two  islands 
have  cliffs  in  a  line  with  each  other.  If  we  could  imagine  some 
volcanic  disturbance  of  a  late  date  that  should  fracture  the  ledges, 
we  could  readily  understand  how  the  debris  should  have  disap- 
peared later  by  the  action  of  the  waves.  Granting  the  presence 
of  a  dome  between  the  islands  the  structure  would  simulate  that 
of  Oahu  and  Maui  where  two  eruptive  mountains  have  been  con- 
nected by  necks  of  later-formed  material. 

In  Koloa  there  are  several  secondary  volcanic  cones  in  an  area 
of  eight  or  ten  square  miles.  The  lavas  are  black  with  the  pecu- 


liar  ropy  structure  and  beneath  are  caverns,  either  the  result  of 
bulging  or  left  by  the  streams  that  were  protected  by  the  con- 
gealed surface.  Unlike  those  back  of  Hilo,  they  do  not  show  any 
stalactites;  but  being  near  the  sea  the  waves  of  the  ocean  press 
into  the  cavities  and  spout  from  orifices  quite  high  into  the  air. 
In  this  neighborhood  are  the  celebrated  barking  sands,  as  well  as 
at  Mana  at  the  extreme  western  end  of  the  island.  Some  of  the 
soils  are  intensely  red  in  color  because  the  growth  of  the  vegeta- 
tion brings  the  iron  into  new  combinations  with  organic  acids. 

The  shores  of  Kauai  are  lined  with  coral  reefs  and  limestones, 
which  are  disintegrated  and  washed  into  beaches,  and  may  be 
blown  inland  considerable  distances.  Some  of  these  wind-driven 
sands  reach  altitudes  of  thirty-five  and  fifty  feet  and  become  con- 
solidated. It  is  difficult  to  draw  the  line  between  the  wind-blown 
sands  and  beaches  formed  by  elevation  of  the  land,  both  of  which 
undoubtedly  are  to  be  found  here  as  on  Oahu. 

A  confirmation  of  our  belief  in  the  greater  antiquity  of  Kauai 
over  the  other  islands  is  derived  from  the  study  of  the  plants. 
This  is  presented  forcibly  by  Dr.  William  Hillebrand  in  his  Flora 
of  the  Hawaiian  Islands.  Taking  the  extremes,  it  may  be  stated 
that  the  flora  of  Mauna  Loa  is  the  poorest  and  most  uniform,  and 
that  of  Kauai  the  richest  and  most  individualized  in  species.  On 
the  whole  the  intervening  islands  follow  the  same  ratio  when  al- 
lowance is  made  for  differences  and  elevation. 

"The  monotony  of  the  forests  of  Puna,  Kau  and  South  Kona  on 
Hawaii,  will  strike  every  attentive  visitor  and  disappoint  the 
botanical  collector  by  the  scarcity  of  the  harvest.  This  can  hardly 
be  ascribed  to  the  periodical  destruction  of  forests  by  lava  streams, 
for  these  follow  with  long  intermission,  affect  only  limited  areas 
at  a  time,  descend  mostly  down  the  northeast  slope,  and  it  is  sur- 
prising to  see  how  quickly  the  ruin  is  repaired,  how  speedily  de- 
composition takes  place  in  the  lava  when  exposed  to  the  influence 
of  copious  rains  and  the  trade  winds.  In  1862  I  visited  the  lower 
end  of  the  lava  stream  which  in  1856  had  cut  its  way  through  the 
forests  toward  Hilo.  A  belt  of  thirty  feet  in  width  on  each  side 
of  it  was  covered  with  a  shrubby  vegetation  which  had  already 
attained  a  height  of  three  to  four  feet.  In  the  break  of  the  pali 
of  Oahu  at  the  head  of  Nuuanu  valley,  through  which  the  trade 
winds  sweep  with  intense  force  nearly  the  entire  year,  one  could 
observe  hard  compact  basalt  gradually  softening  until  it  could  be 
cut  with  a  pocket  knife.  And  with  how  little  soil  plants  are  con- 
tent when  favored  by  copious  rains  is  exemplified  by  the  fact  that 
the  natives  of  Puna,  Hawaii,  raise  good  crops  of  sweet  potatoes  in 
the  hollows  and  cracks  of  bare  lava  by  simply  covering  the  bud- 


15 

ding  sprigs  with  decayed  leaves  and  herbs.  In  the  same  region 
I  once  saw  a  cocoanut  lying  on  smooth  pahoehoe  lava  which  had 
germinated  there  and  sent  off  a  root  for  a  distance  of  eight  inches 
until  it  met  a  crack  down  which  it  descended.  On  the  other  hand, 
the  same  kind  of  lava  when  not  affected  by  rain  and  wind  will  re- 
main unchanged  for  centuries,  as  may  be  seen  under  the  lee  of  East 
Maui.  Nowhere  else  have  the  forests,  although  extensive,  so 
gregarious  a  character  as  within  the  area  of  Mauna  Loa,  and  the 
species  which  comprise  them  show  hardly  any  variation  from  those 
forms  which  are  met  with  more  to  the  east.  The  forests  of  Hilo 
and  Hamakua,  which  belong  to  the  region  of  Mauna  Kea,  are 
already  more  diversified,  and  still  more  those  of  the  Kohala  range. 

In  great  contrast  stands  the  vegetation  both  of  Kauai  and  of 
the  Kaala  range  of  Oahu.  Most  of  Mann's  and  Wawra's  new 
species  come  from  Kauai,  and  Mr.  Knudsen's  collections  have 
added  still  more  to  them.  Even  the  species  which  that  island  has 
in  common  with  others  generally  vary  from  them  in  one  or  more 
particulars.  The  Kauai  species  of  the  leading  Hawaiian  genera 
are  in  all  instances  the  most  specialized,  to  be  distinguished  by 
more  striking  characters  than  the  others.  Examples  are: 
Schiedea,  Raillardia,  Dabantia,  Campylotheca,  Lipochaeta, 
Pittosporum,  Pelea.  The  proportion  of  species  peculiar  to  Kauai 
with  species  peculiar  to  all  the  other  islands  is  about  67:382,  or 
17.5:100." 

Much  may  be  learned  from  a  study  of  the  origin  of  the  plants 
of  the  archipelago.  Out  of  a  thousand  species,  as  described  by 
Hillebrand,  there  are  five  hundred  and  forty-seven  exogens,  thirty- 
five  endogens  and  eighty- four  vascular  cryptogams,,  chiefly  ferns ; 
of  an  exclusively  Hawaiian  origin,  sixty-six  per  cent.  Of  the  re- 
mainder there  are  first,  many  tropical  species  widely  distributed 
throughout  Polynesia;  second,  many  that  are  allied  to  North 
American  forms;  third,  a  smaller  number  resembling  plants  in 
Asia  and  Polynesia;  fourth  and  fifth,  the  smallest  numbers,  from 
Australia  and  Africa.  The  plants  useful  for  food  or  fabrics  have 
probably  been  introduced  by  the  natives.  They  are  such  as  the 
plantain,  banana,  coconut,  breadfruit,  pineapple,  yam,  taro, 
cotton,  peach,  fig,  sugar  cane,  orange  and  alligator  pear.  Various 
weeds,  mostly  undesirable  or  noxious,  particularly  the  lantana, 
have  come  with  American  immigrants.  A  few  characteristic 
indigenous  Hawaiian  plants  are  the  koa  wood,  lately  called  Ha- 
waiian mahogany,  the  hau  and  milo,  malvaceous  species,  silver 
sword  and  the  ohelo,  a  huckleberry  of  the  size  and  often  color  of 
the  cranberry.  Some  plants  become  shrubs  or  trees,  as  the  lobelia, 
violet  and  many  Compositae.  All  the  plants  are  either  exotic  or 


i6 

else  have  been  derived  from  species  brought  by  the  waves,  by 
animals  or  by  man. 

A  good  illustration  of  the  origin  of  the  vegetation  is  the  screw 
pine,  pandanus  or  lauhala.  This  is  a  small  tree  growing  at  trie 
sea  shore.  The  seeds  are  edible  and  are  gathered  together  in 
bunches  somewhat  like  a  small  pineapple,  each  one  being  a 
wedge  with  the  small  part  inside.  These  seeds  will  stand  satura- 
tion in  water  for  months  without  losing  their  vitality.  Hence 
they  may  be  carried  hundreds  or  thousands  of  miles  from  the 
place  of  their  nativity,  and  when  washed  inland  by  unusually  high 
waves  will  be  placed  where  they  will  sprout  and  grow  up.  I  once 
saw  a  place  in  Kauai  where  hundreds  of  young  lauhalas  had 
started  to  grow  near  the  sea  shore  just  like  the  multitude  of  young 
maples  in  New  England.  In  both  cases  the  majority  die,  but  some 
will  live,  and  upon  the  islands  the  lauhala  will  be  the  means  of 
the  increase  of  dry  land. 

There  is  no  tree  with  a  wider  range  in  the  Pacific  than  the  pan- 
danus. And  it  was  in  existence  in  the  Triassic  period  in  Europe. 
It  is  therefore  one  of  the  oldest  and  most  persistent  of  plants,  and 
the  one  best  fitted  to  start  plant  life  upon  the  isolated  volcanic 
islands  for  the  first  time  peering  above  the  waters. 

The  accepted  doctrine  for  the  covering  of  the  islands  of  the 
Pacific  with  vegetation  is  not  that  they  were  specially  created 
where  now  found,  nor  that  they  are  tips  of  a  submerged  conti- 
nent, but  that  the  barren  rocks  attracted  the  seeds  brought  by 
ocean  currents  from  all  sides,  and  that  when  the  plants  in  the 
new  region  found  the  conditions  favorable  for  a  luxuriant  growth 
they  flourished  exuberantly  and  developed  into  the  new  species 
said  to  be  indigenous.  And  the  various  examples  just  cited  prove 
that  there  is  a  constant  development  both  of  vegetable  and  ani- 
mal life  in  the  new  habitats. 

Oahu  has  been  celebrated  for  the  abundance  of  the  peculiar 
land  shells  known  as  Achatinellidae  or  agate  shells  living  natur- 
ally upon  it.  There  are  over  two  hundred  species  of  them,  rep- 
resented by  800  or  1,000  varieties,  and  each  of  these,  forms  is 
confined  to  a  small  section  of  territory  in  the  forests  of  the  two 
ranges  of  mountains.  Each  valley  has  its  own  peculiar  varieties. 
The  most  widely  divergent  forms  of  one  group  will  be  found  in 
the  valleys  that  are  most  distant  from  each  other,  while  intermedi- 
ate varieties  will  be  found  in  the  intermediate  valleys.  The 
species  living  far  apart  cannot  be  connected  by  minute  gradations 
without  bringing  in  some  of  the  forms  found  in  the  intermediate 
territory. 

Granting  that  these  organisms  are  all  descended  from  one  ori- 


PLATE  6. 


OAHU 


OAHU 

Aream5(aW«  Sj«ar«  Miles    598, 
Lwjth  of  Istand  ve  Miles 
Breadtlirf  Island 


|pBi«tfr»Cibfflrnrt2wflH»les  j 

*  knee  f wi  Jap«ft3,¥oo  Miles- 


Susfem 


SAR6UK  W 


DIAMOND 


Relief  Map  of  Oahu. 


ginal  stock,  the  diversity  at  present  existing  has  been  supposed 
to  be  produced  by  exposure  to  different  environments,  cooperating 
with  a  series  of  isolations;  and  if  the  diversities  have  been  sys- 
tematically developed  it  must  be  possible  to  locate  the  home  of 
the  original  species  and  the  routes  of  their  migrations.  It  will 
be  interesting  also  to  discover  whether  some  one  of  the  islands  car- 
ried the  original  animal,  whose  descendants  migrated  to  other 
parts  of  the  archipelago,  and  whether  the  developments  have 
corresponded  to  the  geological  ages  of  the  different  areas.  While 
no  one  has  yet  succeeded  in  discovering  the  order  of  develop- 
ment, there  is  a  suggestion  that  the  ancestor  of  the  Oahu  forms 
came  from  Kauai — and  it  is  a  fact  that  these  creatures  are  very 
scarce  upon  Hawaii.  This  order  would  correspond  to  that  al- 
ready mentioned  about  the  plants,  and  so  far  forth  both  are  in 
agreement  with  the  geological  conclusions. 

OAHU. 

The  geology  of  Oahu  has  been  set  forth  quite  fully  in  two 
papers  by  the  author  in  the  Bulletin  of  the  Geological  Society  of 
America,  1900  and  1906,  The  Geology  of  Oahu,  and  Diamond 
Head.  The  annexed  photograph  of  the  relief  map,  Plate  6,  shows 
admirably  the  general  features  of  the  topography,  two  parallel 
ranges  of  mountains  separated  by  an  intervening  valley  and  both 
the  elevated  lines  considerably  eroded  by  streams  of  running 
water.  The  range  on  the  southwest  side  is  called  Kaala  or  Waia- 
nae,  culminating  at  4,030  feet,  with  a  dozen  separate  peaks, 
and  the  deepest  part  is  near  the  middle,  over  which  a  road  has 
been  built  reaching  the  altitude  of  1,590  feet.  On  the  ocean 
side  there  are  five  prominent  ridges  dividing  the  general  slope 
into  six  valleys,  the  largest  of  which,  holding  the  village  of  Waia- 
nae,  measures  six  miles  from  the  crest  to  the  sea  and  is  about 
three  and  one-half  miles  wide.  Each  valley  has  been  excavated 
by  running  streams,  and  the  erosion  has  been  greatest  upon  the 
slope  facing  the  water,  though  there  may  be  others  of  equally 
large  dimensions  now  concealed  by  later  flows  It  is  evident 
that  the  Kaala  area  represents  the  original  island:  igneous  dis- 
charges produced  a  dome  bordered  by  marine  strata  and  traversed 
by  subsequent  injections.  Later  the  copious  rains  brought  both 
by  the  trade  wind  and  the  Kona  storms  channeled  out  deep  val- 
leys upon  both  sides.  This  island  existed  for  many  ages  before 
another  larger  volcanic  mass  was  developed  in  the  Koolau  range, 
and  when  the  uppermost  igneous  sheets  were  in  motion,  the  cor- 
rugated eastern  border  of  Kaala  was  covered  by  the  advancing 
lavas.  This  fact  was  first  observed  by  Professor  J.  D.  Dana  and 


i8 

is  illustrated  by  a  photograph,  Plate  7,  by  Roger  Sprague.  Kaala 
is  easily  recognized  by  its  greater  height,  and  the  plain  consists 
of  the  later  basalts  that  flowed  westerly  from  Koolau.  The  view 
is  taken  from  near  the  summit  of  the  lowland,  or  the  divide  be- 
tween Pearl  City  and  Waialua,  at  Wahiawa.  The  plain  consists  of 
soft  material  rendered  plastic  by  the  decay  of  the  originally  hard 
basalts.  The  structure  is  obvious  when  one  examines  the  sides 
of  the  canyons. 

The  Koolau  range  is  divided  into  two  parts,  the  more  northern 
Koolauloa  fifteen  miles  long,  and  the  more  southern  Koolaupoko 
twenty-two  miles  long.  The  most  pronounced  ravines  on  the 
west  side  are  upon  Koolaupoko.  At  first,  because  of  the  lack  of 
information,  it  was  supposed  that  ravines  were  rare  in  the  north- 
ern section,  but  Plate  6  shows  that  valleys  are  well  developed  all 
along  the  western  slope.  The  highest  of  the  Koolauloa  peaks 
reaches  2,360  feet. 

Koolaupoko  has  several  peaks  that  are  higher.  Beginning  at 
the  north  end  is  one  not  named,  2,800  feet,  at  the  head  of  Halawa 
valley.  Lanihuli  on  the  north  side  of  the  only  road  crossing  the 
range  at  the  Pali  is  2,778  feet,  and  Konahuanui  on  the  south  side 
is  3,108  feet.  Farther  southeast  the  crest  of  the  mountains  runs 
more  easterly,  terminating  in  a  cliff  six  hundred  and  forty-two 
feet  high  at  Makapuu  point.  The  eastern  slope  has  been  greatly 
eroded  by  the  rains  connected  with  the  trade  winds.  Two  sub- 
ordinate ridges  enclose  Kaneohe  Bay,  the  more  northern,  Kualoa, 
being  opposite  the  meeting  of  Koolauloa  and  Koolaupoko,  and 
the  more  southern  extending  from  Konahuanui  to  Kaneohe  point. 
The  greater  size  of  this  valley  seems  to  be  due  to  a  concentration 
of  the  erosive  agencies,  seen  also  in  the  excavation  of  the  wind 
gap  pali  1,207  feet,  and  the  nearest  approach  to  it  of  a  second 
gap  at  Kalihi  perhaps  200  feet  higher.  A  third  gap  is  in  the 
Koukonahua  gulch  leading  up  from  Wahiawa.  Olamano  is  an 
isolated  peak,  needle-shaped,  1,693  feet,  practically  inaccessible. 
It  is  a  relic  of  the  former  general  slope  to  the  sea  from  Kona- 
huanui. At  the  Pali  is  a  cliff  about  a  thousand  feet  high,  cele- 
brated in  history  as  the  scene  of  a  catastrophe,  when  a  victorious 
army  forced  its  adversary  to  fall  over  the  steep  slope  and  lose 
their  lives.  The  word  pali  is  Hawaiian  for  a  precipice. 

When  viewed  from  the  east  the  precipice  at  the  Pali  is  seen  to 
be  corrugated  like  the  ribs  of  a  domestic  washboard.  Plate  8  rep- 
resents a  corresponding  cliff  on  the  west  side  of  Kaala.  The 
visible  part  of  the  cliff  must  be  about  2,000  feet  high,  and  at  its 
base  is  situated  the  plantation  of  the  Makala  Coffee  Company. 
Like  the  related  steep  escarpement  of  the  Arizona  province  the 


recession  is  precipitous,  but  here  there  are  added  numerous  val- 
leys rendering  the  whole  surface  corrugated. 

The  deeply  eroded  flanks  of  Koolauloa  and  Koolaupoko  finely 
illustrate  the  modern  doctrines  of  subaerial  erosion. 

GEOMORPHY. 

Within  these  two  mountainous  areas,  the  foundation  rock 
everywhere  is  basalt,  disposed  in  layers  dipping  quaquaversally 
from  the  central  lines.  Kaala  was  an  elliptic,  Koolau  an 
elongated  dome,  each  with  its  seaward  sides  sharply  incised  by 
canyons,  and  both  joined  together  by  a  later  formed  plateau,  slop- 
ing both  northerly  and  southerly.  Dana  calls  Oahu  a  "volcanic 
doublet,"  the  united  work  of  two  great  volcanoes  which  have 
been  so  greatly  eroded  that  the  proper  position  of  their  craters 
is  now  conjectural.  This  view  is  confirmed  by  a  comparison  with 
the  Island  of  Maui,  where  one  of  the  volcanic  masses  has  suf- 
fered but  slightly  from  erosion  and  the  connecting  plain  is  nearly 
at  the  sea  level.  Assuming  that  there  were  originally  two  vol- 
canic domes,  with  layers  dipping  outwardly  some  five  degrees,  it 
remains  to  apply  the  principles  of  geomorphy  to  explain  their 
present  forms  and  their  relative  ages.  These  principles  were  ad- 
mirably set  forth  by  Professor  Dana  in  his  report  on  the  origin 
of  the  valleys  and  ridges  of  the  Pacific  islands.4  They  have  been 
applied  later  to  Oahu,  more  especially  by  Captain  C.  E.  Dutton.5 

In  the  volcanic  islands  of  the  Pacific  the  original  form  of  the 
land  was  that  of  a  dome,  consisting  of  basaltic  layers  of  variable 
hardness,  whether  solid,  vesicular,  or  agglomeratic,  and  sloping 
gently  outward  in  all  directions.  An  abundant  rainfall  is  assured 
by  the  contact  of  the  moist  air  of  the  trade  winds  with  the  ele- 
vated mass  of  land.  The  resultant  streams  wear  out  canyons 
radiating  from  the  centers  or  branching  from  axial  lines  of  eleva- 
tion. Of  the  two  erosive  forces,  disintegration  and  transporta- 
tion, the  latter  is  the  most  effective  in  these  volcanic  layers,  which 
appear  almost  like  the  strata  of  sediments.  In  case  the  rainfall 
is  unequally  distributed  on  the  flanks  of  the  elevation,  the  amount 
of  erosion  will  vary,  as  may  be  seen  in  the  number,  shapes,  and 
depths  of  the  valleys  excavated. 

Because  the  transporting  power  of  water  is  greater  where  the 
slopes  are  steep,  the  valleys,  become  larger  in  their  upper  reaches, 
portions  of  the  dividing  ridges  disappear  and  amphitheaters  re- 


4  U.  S.  Exploring  Expedition,  Geology,  pp.  379-392. 

5  Fourth  Ann.  Keport  U.  S.  Geological  Survey. 


20 

suit;  outliers  shape  themselves  out  of  the  original  plateau  and  at 
the  confluence  of  tributaries ;  the  spaces  between  the  streams  nar- 
row to  knife  edges  or  may  disappear;  the  walls,  originally  ver- 
tical, change  to  slopes  through  the  separation  of  blocks  by  gravity, 
which  form  a  talus  at  the  bases  of  the  cliffs.  Although  frost  is 
absent,  so  easily  are  the  fragments  separated  because  of  the  char- 
acter of  the  rocks  that  the  excavation  is  as  effective  as  in  colder 
climates  on  the  more  durable  ledges.  In  the  lower  reaches  the 
streams  take  winding  curves,  and  thus  act  laterally  against  the 
sides,  widening  the  bases. 

The  Koolau  area  is  the  easiest  on  Oahu  to  understand.  From 
the  details  already  presented  it  is  seen  to  be  elliptical,  nearly  forty 
miles  long,  and  deeply  eroded  along  its  seaward  face,  with  many 
amphitheaters,  outliers,  and  especially  the  long  cliff  opposite 
Kaneohe  Bay.  There  has  been  great  excavation  along  the  west- 
ern side  of  Koolaupoko,  but  comparatively  little  on  the  interior 
side  of  Koolauloa.  Judging  from  incomplete  observations  on 
the  rainfall  for  the  past  five  years,  the  average  has  been  one  hun- 
dred and  forty-four  inches  two  miles  below  the  Pali  (Luakaha), 
and  about  twenty  inches  near  the  wharves  of  Honolulu;  but  the 
rainfall  is  confessedly  greater  at  the  crest  of  the  ridge,  probably 
two  hundred  inches,  and  it  diminishes  gradually  all  the  way  to 
the  harbor.  The  fall  along  the  eastern  shoreline  exceeds  thirty 
inches,  increasing  to  the  summit;  hence  it  appears  the  water 
should  be  most  abundant  along  the  crest  of  the  range,  but  greater 
on  the  eastern  than  the  western  slope,  and  whatever  the  fall  may 
be  on  the  Honolulu  side  it  came  from  the  northeast.  The  erosion 
has  been  the  greatest  on  the  northeastern  side,  as  seen  in  the 
Pali,  the  outliers,  sometimes  2,000  feet  high,  the  ridges  running 
northeasterly,  and  the  amphitheaters.  It  reached  probably  to  the 
central  axial  line  of  elevation  opposite  Kaneohe  Bay.  The  cliff 
can  not  very  well  have  been  eroded  by  the  sea,  since  there  are 
irregular  ridges  and  chains  of  hills  at  intervals  of  two  or  three 
miles  stretching  out  perpendicularly  from  the  wall  and  ending  in 
promontories.  Marine  action  would  have  removed  these  pro- 
jections. The  erosion  seems  to  have  been  most  intense  at  the 
road  crossing  the  Pali,  since  there  is  a  gap  worn  down  to  1,207 
feet  from  about  3,000  feet  on  either  side,  and  there  are  two  other 
gaps  to  the  north  not  far  away.  Some  have  explained  the  pres- 
ence of  the  Pali  gap  and  the  horseshoe  form  of  the  land  from 
Mokapu  point  to  Konahuanui  and  thence  along  the  main  range 
to  the  northeast  branch,  ending  at  Kualoa  point,  by  assuming  a 
break  or  fault  at  the  Pali  gap  or  the  existence  of  an  enormous 
crater  in  the  part  of  the  circular  ridge  just  delineated.  The  best 


21 

argument  in  reply  to  both  these  volcanic  theories  is  that  the  topo- 
graphy is  in  better  agreement  with  what  is  known  elsewhere  to 
be  the  result  of  subaerial  erosion.  If  there  were  one  transverse 
fault,  there  must  have  been  three,  quite  close  together,  for  the 
first  cataclysmic  theory;  and  the  theory  of  the  large  crater  as- 
sumes that  certain  cinder  cones  and  scoria  were  intimately  con- 
nected with  it,  which  seems  to  have  been  formed  in  a  different 
way  and  in  later  periods. 

,  On  the  leeward  side  of  Koolaupoko  notice  has  already  been 
taken  of  about  twenty  canyons  in  as  many  miles.  This  is  where 
the  island  is  narrow  and  the  rainfall  is  ample  for  the  work  accom- 
plished, though  the  erosion  has  been  less  than  on  the  windward 
side.  Relatively  little  work  has  been  done  farther  to  the  north- 
west, all  the  way  to  Waialua  and  Waimea.  A  part  of  this  lack 
of  erosion  may  be  due  to  a  smaller  rainfall,  stated  to  have  found 
its  maximum  at  the  Pali  gap.  Certainly  erosion  has  not  pro- 
ceeded for  enough  to  excavate  gorges  high  up,  nor  amphitheaters. 
The  shallow  canyons  on  the  north  shore  and  in  Ewa  are  certainly 
suggestive  of  a  very  scant  or  recent  action.  From  any  hill  like 
Punchbowl  or  Leilono  one  can  see  a  fine  long  stretch  of  this  slop- 
ing plateau,  which  has  been  utilized  for  the  growth  of  sugar  cane. 
The  Kaala  dome  presents  phenomena  of  erosion  very  similar  to 
those  of  Koolau,  but  the  greater  excavations  have  been  effected 
on  the  west  side,  as  evidenced  by  the  valleys  of  Waianae,  Ma- 
kaha,  etc.,  while  the  gradual  slopes  of  the  Koolau  area  impinge 
closely  on  the  latter,  and  the  later  drainage  has  been  forced 
westerly.  The  work  accomplished  has  been  on  all  sides,  whereas 
the  trade  winds  now  blow  from  the  northeast  for  nine  months  of 
the  year.  The  Kaala  dome  existed  before  the  Koolau  mountains 
were  raised  very  much  above  sea  level.  The  ocean  came  perhaps 
half  way  across  the  island,  and  the  trade  winds  impinged  against 
the  basaltic  piles,  dropping  moisture,  which  excavated  the  eastern 
side  very  completely,  together  with  the  Waianae  wind  gap.  Two 
or  more  lengthy  ridges  have  been  mentioned  as  protruding  east- 
erly from  Kaalaa.  In  later  times  Koolau  came  up  from  the  depths 
and  poured  over  the  skeleton  ridges  on  the  east  side  of  Kaala, 
so  as  to  conceal  them  from  view,  and  underlaid  the  plateau  with 
nearly  horizontal  sheets  of  basalt.  This  view  does  not  compel  us 
to  believe  in  the  existence  of  climatic  conditions  different  from 
those  now  prevailing,  and  it  enables  us  to  interpret  what  has  hap- 
pened from  the  varied  topography.  The  greater  excavations  on 
the  Waianae  side  have  been  effected  by  the  Kona  storms,  both 
early  and  late. 


22 

This  theory  is  confirmed  by  observing  a  more  decided  contrast 
on  the  adjacent  double  island  of  Maui.  The  smaller,  older  mass 
of  Eeka,  in  West  Maui,  has  suffered  much  greater  erosion  than 
Kaala,  and  has  also  its  wind  gap,  while  the  gigantic  Haleakala, 
which  has  poured  out  sheets  of  lava  almost  in  historic  times,  pre- 
sents only  the  modern  type  of  canyon  erosion  on  its  wind- 
ward side,  and  the  leeward  side  has  not  been  affected.  The  con- 
trast between  the  two  parts  of  Maui  is  more  marked  than  upon 
Oahu,  but  it  is  the  same  in  kind  and  may  illustrate  the  similar 
sequence  of  Kaala  and  Koolau. 

THE  ARTESIAN  WATER  SUPPLY. 

Among  the  interesting  physical  features  of  Oahu  is  the  abund- 
ant water  supply  derived  from  artesian  wells.  All  other  islands 
possessing  a  similar  structure  are  capable  of  yielding  similar  re- 
turns to  effort ;  so  it  may  be  well  to  present  the  history  of  the 
operations  by  which  great  benefits  have  been  derived. 

The  need  of  a  bountiful  supply  of  water  vitally  concerns  house- 
hold and  agricultural  affairs.  The  numerous  sugar  plantations 
need  very  much  water  for  irrigating  the  land.  These  were  at 
first  located  upon  the  other  islands  like  Kauai  and  Maui  whose 
numerous  streams  supplied  the  necessary  liquid  both  for  irriga- 
tion and  transportation.  Oahu  was  neglected  because  it  is  com- 
paratively arid.  Near  Hilo,  upon  Hawaii,  the  rainfall  amounts  to 
one  hundred  and  seventy-five  inches  annually;  in  East  Maui  to 
two  hundred  and  thirty  inches  annually ;  while  about  Honolulu  it 
varies  from  twenty-four  to  thirty-eight  inches;  at  Ewa  and 
vicinity  from  sixteen  to  forty  inches,  and  is  quite  variable  by 
years,  and  insufficient  for  the  growth  of  the  cane.  At  first  at- 
tempts were  made  to  supply  water  by  irrigation.  Like  other 
cities,  Honolulu  receives  much  water  from  mountain  streams 
brought  by  pip'es  for  household  and  manufacturing  purposes,  as 
well  as  for  the  flowage  of  extensive  tracts  of  rice  land.  The 
great  need  of  water  led  to  suggestions  of  an  artesian  supply.  In 
1879  James  Campbell  sunk  the  first  artesian  well  upon  the  island, 
near  the  Pearl  River  lagoon.  Water  commenced  to  flow  from 
the  depth  of  two  hundred  and  forty  feet,  and  the  auger  penetrated 
thirty-three  feet  farther.  The  next  one  was  sunk  the  following 
year  at  the  mouth  of  Manoa  Valley,  where  the  discharge  proved 
to  be  abundant  from  the  depth  of  two  hundred  and  ninety-eight 
feet.  In  the  same  year  Judge  McCully  obtained  a  still  greater 
supply  from  the  depth  of  four  hundred  and  eighteen  feet.  This 
last  well  was  within  the  city  limits,  where  it  was  easily  seen  by 


23 

the  public,  who  thoroughly  appreciated  its  value.  Many  other 
persons  followed  the  example  of  these  pioneers,  till  now  there  are 
more  than  two  hundred  wells  upon  the  five  leading  plantations, 
yielding  daily  over  three  hundred  milion  of  gallons,  and  there  are 
many  more  within  the  city  limits  of  Honolulu. 

THE  ARTESIAN  CONDITIONS. 

Oahu  presents  two  series  of  diversified  sheets  of  rock  dipping 
gently  toward  the  sea  from:  high  central  points ;  but  the  material 
is  volcanic.  In  the  early  days  successful  artesian  wells  had  been 
sunk  through  sedimentary  strata,  whence  it  was  inferred  that  it 
would  be  useless  to  attempt  borings  in  the  so-called  unstratified 
rocks.  Many  were  dissuaded  from  such  attempts  by  that  con- 
sideration, yet  any  geologist  would  quickly  observe  the  re- 
semblance between  these  volcanic  sheets  and  a  nearly  horizontal 
stratification.  There  is  an  alternation  of  hard  basaltic  sheets, 
volcanic  clays,  ashes,  and  sometimes  limestones  which  offer  the 
necessary  condition  for  subterranean  currents — as  they  dip  gently 
outwardly  on  all  sides. 

The  meterological  conditions  explain  the  source  and  spread  of 
the  waters.  Rain  is  profusely  abundant  on  the  highlands.  The 
trade  winds,  laden  with  moisture,  drop  their  burdens  on  coming 
in  contact  with  the  land  surfaces.  The  maximum  rainfall  is  at 
the  altitude  of  about  1,200  feet.  The  preponderance  of  the  dis- 
charge, being  upon  the  windward  side,  determines  the  place  of 
the  most  copious  streams  and  the  more  effective  erosion.  Hence 
the  domes  have  been  worn  away  unequally.  One  side  may  be 
entirely  removed,  and  the  other  be  scarcely  affected  at  the  sur- 
face. If  the  ridge  is  narrow  at  the  altitude  of  greatest  precipi- 
tation both  sides  will  be  extensively  worn  down.  This  is  well 
shown  on  the  Koolau  upland,  where  the  southeast  end  has  been 
greatly  denuded  upon  both  sides  from  Mokapu  point  to  the  Pali, 
while  to  the  north,  at  a  greater  height,  the  canyons  are  less  con- 
spicuous on  the  west  side. 

The  laying  bare  of  the  interior  of  the  dome  allows  the  water  to 
sink  into  the  pervious  layers,  and  to  flow  beneath  the  surface 
towards  Kaala  and  the  southwest.  Only  the  needful  alternation 
of  pervious  and  impervious  strata  is  necessary  to  give  rise  to  the 
subterranean  streams  which  will  send  water  to  the  surface  when 
pierced  by  the  artesian  wells. 

The  borings  upon  Oahu  prove  the  alternation  of  basalt,  clay, 
earth  and  limestone  to  the  depth  of  several  hundred  feet.  The 
principal  water-bearing  stratum  is  a  very  porous  basalt,  from 


24 

three  hundred  to  four  hundred  feet  below  the  sea  level  by  the 
shore.  It  has  a  hard,  impervious  cover,  sufficiently  tight  to  pre- 
vent the  passage  of  water  through  it.  The  following  general 
statements  concerning  the  artesian  conditions  seem  to  be  well  es- 
tablished : 

1.  The  presence  of  a  porous  water-bearing  stratum  beneath  an 
impervious  cover. 

2.  Water  is  reached  usually  at  the  depth  of  from  three  hun- 
dred to  five  hundred  feet. 

3.  The  water  flows  freely  without  pumping  only  in  a  narrow 
belt  of  territory  adjacent  to  the  coast  line,  where  the  surface  is 
but  slightly  elevated ;  which  is  forty-two  feet  at  Honolulu,  thirty- 
two  feet  at  Ewa  and  twenty-six  feet  at  Kahuku,  at  the  northeast 
angle  of  the  island.      Wells  sunk  in  higher  ground  shows  the 
water  rising  to  the  level  of  forty-two  feet  at  Honolulu,  above 
which  it  will  discharge  only  by  the  application  of  a  pump. 

4.  For  convenience  in  obtaining  a  proper  supply  several  wells 
are  sunk  adjacent  to  each  other.     Naturally,  as  development  takes 
place,  the  number  of  the  wells  increases.     Thus  the  Ewa  planta- 
tion had  at  first  six  ten-inch  wells  some  thirty  feet  apart  con- 
nected by  a  single  pump,  which  lifted  the  water  about  sixty  feet. 
Later  the  wells  are  a  foot  in  diameter  in  groups  of  ten  for  each 
pump.     The  water  is  forced  through  steel  pipes  twenty-four  and 
thirty  inches  in  diameter  to  a  maximum  elevation  of  five  hundred 
feet.     From  various  points  ditches  are  dug  which  carry  the  water 
to  every  field  of  the  plantation.     Though  the  pumps  act  without 
cessation,  the  water  never  fails ;  5,000  acres  of  land  are  irrigated 
from  these  wells. 

5.  These  wells  at  Ewa  are  found  to  be  slightly  affected  by 
the  brine  of  the  sea.     The  natural  waters  of  the  island  contain 
.0073  per  cent,  of  salt  according  to  Dr.  Walter  Maxwell ; 6      Pa- 
cific water  holds  2.921  per  cent,  of  the  same.     One  hundred  grains 
to  the  gallon  of  water  represents  0.14  per  cent.     The  analyst  of 
the   Ewa   company    found    that   the   chlorine   present    (sodium 
chloride)  was  more  abundant  in  the  wells  nearest  the  ocean.     At 
station  No.  I  the  chlorine  amounted  to  17.61  grains  in  a  gallon. 
At  stations  Nos.  2  and  3,  farther  inland,  the  chlorine  had  dimin- 
ished to  8.18  and  11.97  grains  to  the  gallon.     By  experiment  at 
several  localities  it  has  been  found  that  the  salinity  increases  when 
the  pumping  becomes  excessive.     At  Ewa  it  is  stated  that  vegeta- 
tion is  not  at  all  affected  when  the  number  of  grains  per  gallon  is 
less  than  sixty.      At  Molokai,  where  the  salinity  is  greater,  it  is 


"Lavas  and  Soils  of  the  Hawaiian  Islands,'  1898. 


25 

stated  that  the  cane  is  not  affected  unless  the  number  of  grains' 
per  gallon  exceeds  one  hundred. 

From  all  the  facts  available,  the  conclusion  seems  warranted 
that  the  underground  waters  descend  to  the  seas  from  the  high- 
lands and  remain  free  from  admixture  till  the  pressure  of  the 
ocean  exceeds  that  of  the  descending  stream,  when  a  commingling 
of  the  two  liquids  results.  When  the  ocean  pressure  becomes 
greater,  because  of  excessive  pumping,  the  brine  will  increase  in 
amount.  In  a  smaller  island  the  ocean  water  will  force  itself  inland 
quite  conspicuously.  Molokai  illustrates  this  proposition.  Our 
information  is  derived  from  a  report  of  Waldemar  Lindgren  in 
the  Water  Supply  and  Irrigation  Papers  No.  77.  The  springs 
there  are  of  three  classes,  of  which  only  the  first  calls  for  con-« 
sideration  here,  (i)  those  very  near  the  shore,  (2)  those  break- 
ing forth  up  to  the  height  of  2,000  feet,  (3)  running  streams  still 
higher. 

Shallow  wells  near  the  shore  show  the  following  degrees  of 
salinity  or  number  of  grains  per  gallon,  238,  403,  150,  126,  109, 
86,  102,  86;  of  deeper  wells  the  first  gave  eighty-six  grains  at 
the  surface  and  became  ocean  water  at  fifty  feet.  The  second 
became  ocean  water  at  one  hundred  and  twenty-five  feet.  At 
Naiwa  there  are  ninety  grains  of  salinity  at  seventy  feet.  At 
Kalamaula  several  deep  wells  gave  one  hundred  and  two  and  one 
hundred  and  four  grains  and  pure  ocean  water.  The  American 
Sugar  Company  sank  several  deep  wells  at  Kaunakakai,  of  which 
the  first  five  had  one  hundred  and  fifty  grains  per  gallon ;  others 
ranged  from  two  hundred  and  seventy  to  four  hundred  and  eighty- 
five  grains.  The  Risdon  wells  yielded  seventy  to  seventy-nine 
grains  per  gallon.  Better  results  appeared  in  nine  wells  sunk  at 
Kawela,  many  of  them  showing  less  than  fifty  grains  of  salinity. 
The  fresh  water  is  contaminated  up  to  four  or  five  feet  above  the 
sea  level.  None  of  the  underground  streams  can  be  more  than 
eight  miles  in  length,  and  many  do  not  exceed  three.  It  is  also 
probable  that  no  impervious  layer  protects  the  underground  water 
as  in  Oahu. 

6.  There  are  springs  of  'fresh  water  near  the  sea  shore  in 
Oahu  which  correspond  to  the  artesian  fountains.  One  is  the 
famous  Kamehameha  Bath  near  Punahou,  a  second  is  near  the 
railroad  station  at  Honolulu,  and  a  third  gladdens  the  thirsty  soul 
at  Waialua  near  the  Haleiwa  Hotel.  Another  is  at  Niu,  west  ol 
Koko  Head.  It  would  seem  that  the  underground  water  finds  its 
way  to  the  surface  through  some  crevice,  after  the  usual  manner 
of  springs,  and  that  it  is  powerful  enough  to  prevent  the  com- 
mingling of  the  ocean  water  with  it. 


26 

The  theory  of  the  subterranean  stream  from  the  summits  to  sea 
level  has  been  further  tested  practically  by  the  driving  of  tunnels 
to  reach  the  water  near  its  source.  Thus  derived  the  water  is 
free  from  any  possible  saline  contamination,  and  being  delivered 
by  means  of  a  ditch  sloping  downwards,  the  expense  of  sinking 
artesian  wells  and  the  subsequent  pumping  is  saved.  In  this  way 
a  copious  daily  flow  has  been  obtained  from  the  Waianae  side  of 
Kaala,  utilized  to  run  a  dynamo,  besides  irrigating  several  planta- 
tions. A  second  is  to  be  found  upon  the  Oahu  plantation.  On 
Maui  near  Lahaina,  a  six-million-gallon  daily  flow  is  derived  from 
the  altitude  of  2,600  feet  through  a  tunnel  of  the  same  length. 
There  are  no  springs  nor  other  signs  of  underground  water  along 
the  route.  It  must  be  permanent,  as  the  flow  has  been  constant 
for  the  past  two  years.  Other  examples  could  be  cited. 

•**•  SPRINGS  IN"  THE  OCEAN. 

After  these  introductory  statements  it  is  possible  now  to  postu- 
late an  additional  proposition:  springs  of  fresh  water  arise  in  the 
midst  of  the  ocean  at  some  distance  from  the  shore.  The  facts 
are  not  numerous,  but  are  stated  upon  the  best  authority.  Pro- 
fessor Joseph  Le  Conte,  in  his  'Geology/  7  says  that  fresh  water 
springs  arise  in  the  ocean  in  the  Hawaiian  Islands.  In  reply  to 
my  inquiry  as  to  details,  he  wrote  that  he  had  not  preserved  the 
memoranda  relating  to  these  phenomena,  and  that  they  had  es- 
caped his  memory.  No  one  can  doubt  the  correctness  of  the  state- 
ment in  view  of  the  existence  of  the  proved  underground  waters. 
Powerful  streams  discharge  millions  of  gallons  of  water  through 
the  artificial  openings  very  near  the  sea  shore.  If  not  intercepted, 
they  must  continue  a  considerable  distance  out  to  sea,  and  hence 
must  well  up  to  the  surface  amid  saline  billows. 

Further  inquiry  about  these  springs  in  the  Territory  of  Hawaii 
has  resulted  in  the  discovery  of  several  upon  Oahu ;  there  is  one 
off  Diamond  Head,  a  second  off  Waialae.  At  the  east  end  of 
Maui,  in  Hana,  there  was  a  fortress  named  Kaimuke,  occupied  by 
soldiers  in  the  ancient  times.  As  it  was  almost  an  island,  com- 
munication with  the  mainland  was  not  feasible  in  the  time  of 
a  siege,  and  for  the  lack  of  water  it  could  not  have  been  held  ex- 
cept for  the  presence  of  submarine  springs.  The  natives  would 
dive  down  to  collect  water  in  their  calabashes,  which  supplied  all 
the  wants  of  the  garrison.  Other  springs  were  known  in  the 
harbor  of  Hana,  and  at  low  tide  at  Lahaina.  Upon  Hawaii  I 


7  Elements  of  Geology,  p.  74. 


27 

found  there  were  fresh-water  springs  off  Kawaiahae,  Keauhou 
and  Punaluu. 

I  was  led  to  pursue  the  study  of  these  fresh- water  springs  some- 
what further  in  other  than  Hawaiian  districts,  and  found  abund- 
ant illustrations  of  them,  in  Florida,  Louisiana,  Cuba  and  the  Per- 
sian Gulf,  so  that  we  are  warranted  in  looking  for  fresh  water 
bubbling  up  through  the  brine  of  the  ocean  in  almost  any  part  of 
the  world.  It  is  conceivable  that  such  supplies  might  be  utilized 
for  the  benefits  of  steamships  or  for  household  purposes  where 
the  local  streams  are  unwholesome  or  defective.8 

—    COEAL  BEEF. 

Oahu  is  mostly  encircled  by  a  fringing  coral  reef.  At  low 
tide  one  can  walk  a  long  distance  on  this  reef  in  various  direc- 
tions, off  the  city  of  Honolulu,  near  Koko  Head,  and  in  Kaneohe 
Bay.  The  polyps  living  on  and  enlarging  the  reef  are  of  the 
genera  Porites,  Pocillopora,  Astrea,  Meandria  and  Fungia,  to- 
gether with  Millepora,  echinoderms,  mollusks,  serpulae,  gorgoniae, 
nullipores  with  sea  weeds,  etc.  The  life  is  much  better  de- 
veloped at  Kaneohe  Bay  than  at  Honolulu,  because  the  trade  winds 
impinge  directly  against  the  shore,  bringing  food  in  great  abund- 
ance to  the  animals,  while  the  harbor  is  on  the  lee  side  of  the 
islands  and  subsistence  is  less  easily  obtained.  Where  the  fresh- 
water streams  of  Nuuanu  and  Kalihi  valleys  and  Pearl  river  enter 
the  sea,  channels  are  produced,  because  the  animals  can  not  flour- 
ish in  fresh  water.  The  Nuuanu  channel  is  utilized  for  shipping, 
and  the  Pearl  River  outlet  bids  fair  to  form  the  entrance  to  the 
finest  harbor  in  the  Pacific  Ocean  when  the  bar  at  the  mouth  has 
been  removed. 

The  great  extent  of  the  low  apparently  drowned  land  about 
Pearl  River  and  inland  from  Waikiki  gives  the  impression  of 
submergence;  and  on  the  northeast  side  of  the  island  Kaneohe 
and  Kahana  Bays  may  be  quoted  as  tending  to  the  same  con- 
clusion. This  is  a  controverted  point  between  the  advocates  of 
the  Darwin  and  Murray  theories  of  the  origin  of  coral  reefs. 
Doubtless  the  land  is  somewhat  lower  now  than  it  was  formerly 
whichever  theory  is  adopted. 

The  loose  character  of  the  ordinary  reef  rock  is  shown  in  the 
large  blocks  used  for  stone  walls  and  buildings.  A  better  quality 
is  exhibited  in  the  walls  of  the  Kawaeahaa  church,  and  the  very 
best  is  a  compact  variety  made  by  the  washing  of  limestone  frag- 

8  See  Fresh-water  Springs  in  the  Ocean.  Popular  Science  Monthly 
for  December,  1905. 


28 

ments  into  fissures  and  cavities,  which  have  been  cemented  by  its 
own  substance  in  solution.  The  sea  water  has  worn  the  reef  into 
very  irregular  shapes,  not  easy  to  walk  on. 

The  plain  of  Honolulu  rests  on  coral  limestone,  beginning 
easterly  near  Moiliili  church  and  Paakea,  and  it  has  been  covered 
by  the  basaltic  flow  of  Kaimuki.  It  crops  out  in  many  places 
within  the  settled  districts,  as  on  the  banks  of  the  Nuuanu  River 
near  the  Palama  chapel  and  seaward  from  the  trolley 
at  Kapalama.  A  very  large  excavation  in  it  shows  an 
abundance  of  corals  and  shells.  Boulders  of  basalt  strew  the 
surface  of  the  unexcavated  portion,  and  it  may  extend  beneath 
the  Kahemaheha  Schools  and  Bishop  museum,  being  fully  twenty 
feet  above  the  sea.  The  original  floor  of  the  crater  of  Aliapakai 
consists  of  coral,  and  it  both  overlies  and  is  intercalated  in  the 
tuff  that  came  from  Makalapa,  exposed  along  the  railway  in  the 
southeast  locks  and  the  islands  opposite.  Most  of  the  islands  and 
points  about  Pearl  River  consist  of  this  material,  as  at  Ford's 
Island,  Pearl  City  peinsula,  Laulaunui,  etc.  About  Ewa  planta- 
tion the  limestone  area  is  nine  miles  long  and  two  and  one-half 
wide.  It  skirts  the  shore  and  railroad  the  whole  length  of  the 
southwest  shore  of  Oahu.  At  an  abandoned  quarry  three  miles 
north  of  Barber's  Point  (Laeloa)  lighthouse  the  best  quality  of 
the  sandstone  is  well  developed,  and  was  used  in  the  erection  of 
the  Saint  Andrew's  English  Cathedral.  Alexander  Agassiz 
speaks  of  this  material  as  a  "massive  coral  pavement  sandstone." 

There  are  three  varieties  of  material  at  this  locality:  At  the 
base,  the  underlying  rough  reef  loosely  put  together,  a  sandy  lime- 
stone, and  above  all,  the  compact  pavement  sandstone,  capable  of 
affording  a  good  polish.  The  total  thickness  is  about  sixteen  feet. 
This  compact  rock  has  been  utilized  also  in  the  manufacture  of 
quicklime.  It  is  a  good  place  in  which  to  observe  the  manufacture 
of  the  sandstones,  for  shells  and  corals  are  strewn  over  the  beach 
in  all  stages  from  the  live  animal  to  worn  cobbles,  pebbles,  sand, 
and  firm  rock.  Crystals  of  calcite  are  frequently  seen  in  the  con- 
solidated rock. 

Proceeding  northerly,  Professor  Alexander  reports  a  ledge  of 
coral  seventy-nine  feet  above  the  sea,  at  Kahe,  and  seven  hundred 
and  thirty  feet  distant  from  the  water  south  of  Puu  o  Hulu,  he 
mentions  another  ledge  fifty-six  feet  above  the  sea  and  a  quarter 
of  a  mile  inland ;  also  on  the  south  side  of  Lualualei,  twenty  feet 
high.  At  the  south  end  of  the  ridge  called  Moiliili,  the  limestone 
reaches  the  height  of  eighty-one  feet;  at  other  localities  on  this 
coast  I  have  observed  limited  areas  of  the  same  substance  more  or 
less  elevated. 


2-9 

The  plain  at  Waialua  shows  many  outcrops  of  the  reef;  Ka- 
huku,  the  extreme  northern  point  of  Oahu,  is  the  most  interesting 
locality.  The  Koolau  highlands  end  in  a  bluff  nearly  two  miles 
back  from  the  extreme  point,  rising  to  a  hundred  feet  or  more 
from  a  flat  plain.  This  bluff  consists  of  coral  rock  up  to  sixty 
feet,  capped  by  blown  calcareous  sand  now  firmly  consolidated, 
which  may  extend  inland  to  a  height  of  two  hundred  and  fifty  feet. 
At  various  localities  in  the  neighborhood  I  found  corals  and  shells 
in  the  underlying  limestone,  but  nothing  in  the  sandstone  above, 
save  perhaps  a  shell  brought  by  a  hermit-crab.  Professor  Dana 
has  given  a  very  effective  figure  on  page  302  of  his  "Character- 
istics of  Volcanoes,"  illustrating  this  plane  between  the  two  lime- 
stones. Nowhere  on  the  windward  side  of  the  island  do  the  winds 
blow  more  vigorously  than  here,  and  hence  the  explanation  of 
the  great  altitude  attained  by  this  blown  consolidated  sand.  For 
five  miles  southeasterly,  to  even  beyond  Laie,  the  coral  plain  is 
quite  extensive.  Knobs  of  the  consolidated  sand  with  inclined 
strata  rise  to  the  height  of  thirty-five  feet,  and  sometimes  suggest 
an  assemblage  of  kames.  Several  other  localities  of  coral  ma- 
terials might  be  mentioned. 

PEARL  HARBOR  SERIES. 

The  coral  reefs  and  limestones  are  intimately  associated  with 
sedimentary  deposits  and  volcanic  flows,  partly  ashes,  often  dis- 
integrated. The  whole  assemblage  is  really  a  terrane  about  1,000 
feet  in  thickness.  It  is  best  developed  about  the  Pearl  River  locks, 
and  hence  for  convenience  it  may  be  termed  the  Pearl  Harbor 
series.  Probably  this  series  of  deposits  began  in  the  Pliocene, 
and  the  older  layers  may  be  a  base  on  which  the  volcanic  ejections 
commenced  to  accumulate.  Some  authors  think  that  extensive 
Tertiary  deposits  are  necessary  for  the  starting  of  volcanic  ac- 
tivity in  every  country.  If  so,  parts  of  the  Pearl  Harbor  beds 
will  be  found  beneath  Koolau  and  Kaala.  This  series  is  evidently 
to  be  compared  with  the  thick  limestone  deposits  in  the  Fiji 
Islands,  supposed  by  Dr.  Alexander  Agassiz  to  underlie  the  living 
coral  reefs  of  the  archipelago  and  to  have  been  elevated  as  much 
as  eight  hundred  feet. 

Owing  to  thorough  disintegration,  it  is  not  easy  always  to 
discriminate  between  a  decayed  lava  and  a  earthy  sediment, 
especially  as  lavas  or  ashes  are  constantly  intercalated  with  strata. 
I  will  speak  of  these  deposits  at  several  localities  where  they  may 
be  easily  examined.  One  of  the  most  important  may  be  seen  in  a 
railway  cutting  a  short  distance  east  of  the  Waipio  station,  west 


30 

of  Pearl  City  on  the  line  of  the  Oahu  Railway  and  Land  Company. 
The  deposits  seem  to  be  arranged  as  follows  from  above  down- 
ward : 

I.       Ten  feet  of  a  reddish-yellowish  earth,  constituting  the  so 

H.     Six  feet  of  gray  slaty  colored  earth. 

G.     Two  to  eight  feet  of  limestone  and  marl. 

F.     One  to  two  feet  of  pure  kaolin,  best  seen  in  the  fields  east. 

E.     Three  to  four  feet  of  bluish  and  other  clays. 

D.  Bed  of  oyster  shells,  one  to  two  feet  thick.  Ostrea  retusa, 
Sby. 

C.  Two  and  a  half  feet  of  ferruginous  clay  containing  large 
nodular  masses  of  black  hard  clay,  apparently  car- 
bonaceous. 

B.  Six  inches  of  greenish  clay,  with  blue  stains  of  what  may 
be  iron  phosphate  or  manganese  oxide. 

A.  Four  or  five  feet  thickness  of  clays,  extending  downward  to 
the  track  of  the  railroad  and  to  an  unknown  depth. 

The  uppermost  of  the  layers  may  be  followed  along  a  sort  of 
terrace  northerly  to  the  Oahu  mill,  and  the  gray  layer  shows  itself 
wherever  a  cut  has  been  made  deep  enough  to  reach  it.  West  of 
Oahu  mill  the  kaolin  is  recognized  along  the  road  leading  west 
for  one  -fourth  of  a  mile,  and  also  along  the  branch  railroad  half 
a  mile  out  from  Waipahu  station.  It  comes  in  contact  with  basalt, 
probably  unconformably,  along  the  railroad  and  overlies  a  pebbly 
rubble  whose  constituents  are  so  decayed  that  they  will  crumble 
under  the  pressure  of  the  hand,  and  is  over  an  agglomerate  that 
may  be  connected  with  the  basalt.  The  Waipio  cut  is  repeated 
on  a  larger  scale  in  a  railroad  cut  easterly  from  the  Ewa  upper 
pump  (October  14,  1898).  The  basal  greensand  is  thicker,  as  is 
the  kaolin  and  the  greater  part  of  the  upper  material  is  a  red  earth, 
the  exposure  here  being  about  forty  feet  thick.  It  is  likely  there 
is  a  direct  connection  between  the  kaolin  of  the  Waipio  cut,  the 
neighborhood  of  Oahu  mill,  and  the  railroad  cut  near  the  Ewa 
upper  pump.  At  this  locality  the  lava  is  in  part  vesicular,  in 
sheets,  very  much  decayed.  Following  the  railroad  to  the  middle 
pump,  this  lava  is  covered  by  a  thick  layer  of  cobbles  and  pebbles 
mixed,  which  continues  almost  to  the  lower  pump  along  the  ravine, 
underlaid  by  what  seems  to  be  very  soft  lava.  This  is  on  the 
edge  of  the  Ewa  plantation  plateau,  which  may  be  sixty  feet 
above  the  sea,  and  said  to  rise  to  one  hundred  and  sixty  feet 
where  crossed  by  the  Government  road. 

Crossing  over  the  fish  pond  from  Waipio  to  John  li's  tomb,  the 
rock  is  calcareous  with  fossil  shells,  either  D  or  G  of  the  section. 


East  of  the  Waipio  cut  along  the  railroad  we  see  first  the  upper 
red  earth,  and  then  beneath  the  same  pebbly  layer  observed  in  the 
Ewa  ravine.  Going  west  from  Waipio,  at  Hoaeae  station  is  a  cut 
in  the  red  earth,  cut  by  two  vertical  dikes  of  sand.  About  a  mile 
west  of  Hoaeae  there  are  excavations  showing  a  thick  earth  cov- 
ered by  the  pebbly  deposit  unconformably,  and  both  by  loam.  A 
dike  of  sand  extends  downward  from  the  pebbles  into  the  earth. 

South  from  the  Waipio  cut  on  the  peninsula  a  calcareous  sand- 
stone is  found  at  the  south  edge  of  Eo  pond.  Near  Hanaloa  pond 
is  a  large  quantity  of  marl,  and  possibly  kaolin,  G  and  perhaps  F 
of  the  section.  At  the  southwest  corner  of  Hanaloa  pond  is  an 
abundance  of  limestone  with  fossil  shells  and  corals.  East  of  this 
pond  the  rock  appears  more  like  the  ordinary  reef. 

Near  Ewa  church,  northeast  from  Waipio,  the  section  is  more 
of  a  volcanic  character.  At  the  base  is  an  unaltered  basalt  of  the 
agglomerate  kind,  consisting  of  large  stones  or  spherules, 
cemented  by  a  reddish  material,  which  is  apparently  the  result  of 
decomposition  of  the  original  rock,  for  there  is  every  grade  of 
transition,  from  the  compact  unaltered  rock  to  that  containing 
spherules  and  that  which  is  entirely  a  soft  earth.  There  are 
bunches  or  areas  of  the  hard  basalt  in  the  midst  of  the  softer 
varieties,  and  this  difference  in  what  seems  to  be  one  layer  is 
analagous  to  variations  in  the  character  of  the  rock  at  the  living 
volcano.  The  gases  inducing  decay  are  abundant  in  certain  spots 
and  absent  from  others.  The  boulders  weather  concentrically, 
and  are  of  the  same  kind  with  what  are  often  strewed  over  fields, 
like  the  ice-carried  stones  of  glaciated  regions.  Above  this  are 
a  few  layers  of  what  is  very  near  hematite,  a  known  decomposi- 
tion product  of  lava.  This  is  covered  by  earth,  and  that  by  a 
mixture  of  sand,  earth  and  rubble.  The  hill  or  plateau  is  capped 
by  red  and  yellow  earths,  each  a  fathom  or  more  in  thickness. 
The  total  thickness  must  be  sixty  or  seventy  feet. 

From  the  Laeloa  craters  across  the  eastern  part  of  the  Hono- 
lulu sugar  plantation  or  to  Halawa  station  on  the  railroad  the 
surface  is  largely  composed  of  the  upper  earths  of  the  section, 
constituting  the  substratum  of  the  soils  found  to  be  very  suitable 
for  the  growth  of  the  sugar  cane.  At  a  deep  railway  cut  one- 
fourth  of  a  mile  west  from  Aiea  station  is  a  thick  mass  of  earth, 
capped  by  eight  or  ten  feet  of  coarse  pebbles  and  cobbles,  cemented 
together  so  as  to  constitute  a  conglomerate,  all  of  whose  con- 
stituents are  rounded.  These  stones  increase  in  size  in  passing 
across  a  stream  near  the  business  center  of  the  Honolulu  planta- 
tion. Starting  at  the  sea  level,  at  Aiea  station,  the  following  is  an 
approximate  section  up  to  the  top  of  the  pleateau,  about  sixty 


32 

feet.  At  the  base,  four  feet  of  greenish  clay  and  pebbly  earth; 
one  foot  of  fine  volcanic  ash,  consolidated ;  four  feet  of  tuff ;  one 
foot  of  clayey  ash ;  pebbles  and  clay,  four  feet ;  tuff  and  ash,  eight 
feet.  Back  of  this  cliff  is  an  indefinite  amount  of  drab  and  gray 
earths,  with  layers  of  silica.  On  the  summit  of  the  plateau  I 
found  marine  shells  and  corals,  some  of  which  are  like  those  used 
for  food  by  the  natives,  so  that  this  is  not  a  clear  case  of  a  sub- 
marine deposit,  though  it  probably  is,  as  some  of  the  organisms 
are  not  edible.  On  the  branch  railroad  leading  from  Halawa  up 
to  the  sugar  plantation  is  an  interesting  cut  through  earth  capped 
by  a  fine  grained  volcanic  ash,  three  feet  thick,  well  filled  with 
leaves  of  dicotyledonous  plants.  The  ash  was  apparently  blown 
from  Makalapa  and  consolidated.  Along  the  seashore  the  lower 
pebbly  ash  of  the  Aiea  section  has  been  folded  and  slightly  faulted. 
It  is  covered  by  an  earth  or  old  soil,  which  can  be  traced  east- 
wardly  directly  beneath  the  tuff  of  Makalapa,  which  comes  as 
far  west  as  Halawa  stream. 

The  Pliocene  area  of  Oahu  coincides  very  nearly  with  the  low- 
land tracts  utilized  for  the  cultivation  of  sugar  cane  and  sisal, 
from  Barber's  Point  to  Koko  Head ;  perhaps  to  the  altitude  of  300 
feet  entirely  around  the  island.  Small  patches  of  the  rock  ap- 
pear at  Waianae,  Waialua,  the  Kahuku  plantation,  Laie  and  other 
places  on  the  northeast  coast.  The  rock  also  is  extensively  dis- 
tributed below  the  surface,  as  developed  in  the  borings  for  ar- 
tesian wells.  Northeast  from  Diamond  Head  Dr.  W.  H.  Dall 
found  fossils  in  it,  referable  to  the  Pliocene,  species  of  Conus, 
Purpura,  Chmna  and  O-strea,  seemingly  extinct.  This  original  an- 
nouncement of  this  conclusion  was  stated  as  follows : 9  "To  sum 
up,  it  is  concluded  that  the  reef  rock  of  Pearl  Harbor  and  Dia- 
mond Head  limestones  are  of  late  Tertiary  age,  which  may  corre- 
spond to  the  Pliocene  of  West  American  shores,  or  even  be  some- 
what earlier,  and  in  the  localities  studied  there  was  no  evidence 
of  any  Pleistocene  elevated  reefs  whatever.  It  is  probable  that 
Oahu  was  land,  inhabited  by  animals,  as  early  as  the  Eocene." 

It  would  seem  that  this  Pearl  Harbor  series  is  a  combination 
of  marine  deposits,  reefs,  decayed  rock,  secondary  volcanic  pro- 
ducts, ashes  and  solid  basalt.  The  natural  conclusion  is  that 
volcanic  ejections  were  intercalated  with  beds  of  marine  origin, 
illustrated  further  by  the  finding  of  a  fine  black  ash  intercalated 
in  the  limestone  of  Ford's  Island,  several  miles  away  from  the 
nearest  volcanic  vent.  At  present  it  is  not  possible  to  separate 
them.  Passing  southerly  toward  the  mouth  of  the  river,  the  lime- 


•  Geology  of  Oahu,  Bull.  Geol.  Soc.  Amer.,  Vol.  11,  p  60. 


33 

stones  grow  thicker  and  merge  into  the  calcareous  beds  proved 
to  extend  into  the  earth  by  the  artesian  bore-holes.  Hence  there 
is  ground  for  the  belief  that  the  foundation  of  the  whole  archi- 
pelago is  a  Tertiary  limestone  traversed  by  eruptives. 

A  recent  visit  to  Wahiawa  has  added  to  our  knowledge  of  the 
facts  and  to  modified  conclusions.  There  have  been  lavas  from 
both  Kaala  and  Koolau  as  heretofore  explained,  meeting  in  the 
Kaukonahou  gulch,  and  they  are  to  be  distinguished  from  each 
other  by  the  slopes  of  the  beds.  Connected  with  the  more  com- 
pact basalt  are  agglomerate  and  residual  days,  still  beneath  strata 
of  aqueous  origin.  At  the  bridge  across  the  stream  are  fine  ex- 
posures of  the  decayed  basalt  showing  excellently  the  original 
composition.  The  cliffs  exposed  are  crowded  with  the  spherules 
of  concentric  structure  usually  soft  throughout  but  occasionally 
having  the  solid  core  present,  which  remains  simply  because  the 
work  of  decay  has  not  been  complete.  In  one  place  there  is  an 
immense  concretionary  crust  of  limonite.  Passing  to  the  hill 
south  may  be  seen  beds  of  pebbles,  sandy  and  clayey  layers  capped 
by  a  considerable  thickness  of  residuary  clay.  There  is  evidently 
a  considerable  aqueous  deposit  here  overlying  the  decayed  basalt. 
Another  fine  exposure  of  the  series  may  be  seen  as  you  stand  upon 
the  dam  and  look  at  the  cliff  on  the  northwest  side.  The  dis- 
covery of  fossil  marine  shells  near  the  dam  at  as  much  as  eight  hun- 
dred feet  elevation  in  the  upper  sediments  will  lead  to  improved 
conclusions.  The  basalts  from  Koolau  flowed  toward  the  Kaala 
sheets,  meeting  them  along  the  gulch  and  at  the  lowest  points. 
Then  decay  set  in,  having  commenced  back  in  the  Tertiary.  The 
later  wash  from  both  the  mountains  has  filled  all  the  holes  and 
irregularities  and  produced  the  plains  sloping  downwards  to  the 
lowest  line,  and  at  the  same  time  extensive  sedimentary  beds  were 
laid  down.  It  is  evident  that  the  ocean  covered  the  plains,  mak- 
ing islands  of  Kaala  and  Koolau.  The  gulches  leading  to  Waia- 
lua  and  Pearl  Harbor  were  excavated  later  after  the  renewal  of 
the  erosion  by  elevation  of  the  land. 

—    THE  LATER  VOLCANIC  PHENOMENA. 

These  are  manifested  as  dikes,  basaltic  craters,  tuff  cones  and 
ashes.  The  first  traverse  both  the  Kaala  and  the  Koolau  basalts ; 
some  of  them  being  very  olivinitic  and  are  of  various  ages.  The 
basaltic  craters  examined  are  partly  in  the  Laeloa  series  at  the 
south  end  of  the  Waianae  mountains,  Rocky  Hill,  Mauumae  and 
Kaimuki  to  the  east  of  Honolulu.  The  tuff  cones  are  the  most 
numerous,  being  at  Laeloa,  Salt  Lake,  Tantalus  and  elsewhere 


34 

upon  Koolau,  Punchbowl,  Diamond  Head,  Kaneohe  and  the 
Koko  Heads.  More  or  less  connected  with  any  of  the  secondary 
craters  is  the  Black  Ash,  which  is  worthy  of  special  mention. 

BLACK  ASH. 

The  city  and  environs  of  Honolulu  are  widely  covered  by  a 
coarse  black  ash,  cinders  or  sand  of  volcanic  origin.  It  is  so 
coarse  and  uniform  that  it  has  been  utilized  for  the  removal  of  all 
sorts  of  sewage  from  the  houses  to  the  sea.  When  the  population 
was  sparse  this  material  rendered  the  laying  of  cement  pipes  un- 
necessary, as  it  removed  the  waste  matter  in  a  satisfactory  man- 
ner. Now  that  the  population  has  greatly  increased,  there  is  a 
call  for  an  improvement  over  this  primitive  method  of  drainage. 
Nevertheless,  facts  about  the  distribution  of  this  ash  will  still  be 
of  importance,  as  it  will  be  years  before  all  parts  of  the  city  can 
be  reached  by  the  new  sewers. 

The  extreme  northeastern  limit  of  the  black  ash  is  at  the  base 
of  the  Tantalus  cone,  where  it  is  well  exposed  along  the  road  for  a 
quarter  of  a  mile.  As  much  as  twenty-five  feet  thickness  of  it  is 
presented  to  view  here.  Some  of  it  is  weathered,  and  there  are 
numerous  small  nodules  scattered  through  it,  varying  in  size  from 
grains  to  a  length  of  two  inches.  Some  parts  seem  to  be  consoli- 
dated lumps,  both  black  and  red. 

The  spur  running  down  to  Kakea  and  Roundtop  toward  Ma- 
kiki  is  covered  by  this  sand,  to  the  obscuration  of  the  underying 
rock,  nearly  all  the  way  from  Tantalus.  A  small  pond  east  of 
Kakea,  seemingly  an  old  crater,  is  sometimes  spoken  of  as  the 
source  of  the  great  flood  of  ash,  as  it  is  continuous  from  it  over 
the  top  of  Kakea,  1,460  feet  high,  and  all  the  neighboring  sum- 
mits. All  these  hills  have  rounded  slopes,  as  if  they  had  been  de- 
luged by  showers  of  sand.  It  poured  down  the  Manoa  slope  as 
far  as  to  the  trolley  line.  Roundtop,  1,062  feet,  is  overlaid  by 
the  same  material,  and  everything  is  covered  down  to  Wilder 
avenue  and  beyond.  The  road  from  Punahou  up  to  Manoa  Val- 
ley and  the  north  side  of  Rocky  Hill  shows  it  nearly  everywhere. 
From  Oahu  College  along  the  base  of  the  hills  sloping  down  from 
Tantalus  and  round  the  base  of  Punchbowl  the  amount  of  this 
ash  reaches  its  maximum  thickness. 

Much  may  be  learned  by  studying  the  phenomena  presented 
about  Punchbowl.  First,  however,  it  must  be  stated  that  this 
material  is  used  much  for  grading  and  filling  holes  in  the  roads, 
and  about  buildings.  Soon  after  its  application  it  becomes  rusty, 
and  in  a  year  or  two  the  color  has  completely  changed,  so  that  it 


35 

is  not  recognizable.  The  reddish  color  of  the  road  and  the 
sidewalks  all  over  the  city  indicates  its  presence  to  those  who 
understand  what  the  black  ash  may  become,  and  its  pulverization 
gives  rise  to  the  dust  so  freely  blown  by  the  trade  winds  into  one's 
face  all  over  the  city.  A  very  prolific  source  of  it  is  from  the 
slopes  of  Punchbowl,  where  it  may  be  seen  in  abundance,  both  in 
the  original  and  altered  conditions.  At  the  "Battery,"  on  the 
summit  of  the  road,  this  ash  occurs  in  connection  with  scoria, 
lapilli,  and  basalt.  It  is  apparently  the  throat  through  which 
there  have  been  copious  discharges.  The  greater  part  of  the  in- 
side of  the  bowl  is  covered  by  it,  and  those  who  believe  the  whole 
material  came  from  Tantalus  would  say  it  had  rained  down  into 
the  bowl  from  the  sky.  Nearly  opposite  the  lowest  point  in  the 
rim  of  the  bowl  there  is  a  hill  (one  hundred  and  ninety-seven  feet) 
known  as  the  "Powder  Magazine,"  entirely  composed  of  this 
sand,  said  by  some  to  have  been  blown  out  there  from  Punchbowl. 
While  this  may  be  true,  it  is  not  necessarily  so  because  of  excava- 
tions of  the  ravine  between  the  Magazine  and  the  Bowl  by  run- 
ning water. 

The  most  westerly  exposure  of  these  ashes  is  at  an  old  cemetery 
between  the  Insane  Asylum  and  the  Bishop  Museum.  Obviously 
the  Nuuanu  valley  may  have  been  filled  with  this  deposit,  which 
has  nearly  all  been  removed  by  fluviatile  erosion,  leaving  this 
remnant  of  one  or  two  acres  in  extent.  This  may  be  ten  feet 
thick,  as  shown  by  excavations,  with  caves  and  pillars  of  a  similar 
material  made  to  cohere  by  concretionary  attraction.  Here  may 
be  seen  the  pebbles  overlying  the  ashes.  They  have  been  seen 
also  on  the  north  side  of  Punchbowl.  Hence  there  are  three 
localities  of  stones  thrown  out  from  Punchbowl  subsequently  to 
the  discharge  of  the  ashes.  It  is  to  be  noted  that  the  ashes  at 
the  crest  of  Punchbowl  near  the  flagstaff  and  those  below  Tan- 
talus and  over  Roundtop  contain  numerous  nodules.  These 
are  not  present  in  the  deposit  in  the  lower  grounds  about  the  city. 
Perhaps  their  greater  weight  explains  why  they  are  limited  to 
locations  near  their  point  of  departure. 

My  conclusion  in  regard  to  the  origin  of  this  coarse  black  ash 
is  that  it  probably  originated  in  at  least  three  craters — Tantalus, 
the  pond  east  of  Kakea,  and  Punchbowl.  The  other  shore  craters, 
Diamond  Head  and  the  Kokos,  have  poured  out  freely  a  similar 
but  finer  grained  material,  and  Makalapa  may  have  been  the 
source  of  the  consolidated  ash  plant  beds  near  Halawa.  A  better 
knowledge  of  the  conditions  about  Diamond  Head  leads  to  the 
belief  that  the  ash  on  its  eastern  side  came  from  Kupikipikio. 
There  are  beds  of  this  ash  cut  by  the  road  on  the  northeast  and 


36 

north  sides  of  the  Head,  sloping  toward  the  east.  A  part  of  the 
material  has  changed  its  color  from  black  to  reddish,  due  to 
weathering.  It  is  generally  much  finer  grained  than  the  ash 
about  Honolulu.  It  has  not  been  observed  about  Diamond  Head 
elsewhere  than  on  the  Kupikipikio  side,  where  it  would  have 
naturally  fallen  if  ejected  from  the  latter  opening,  being  carried 
by  the  prevailing  winds  so  as  to  fall  upon  the  slope  of  the  former. 
So  also  had  the  material  come  from  Diamond  Head  we  should 
expect  to  find  some  remnants  of  it  at  least  upon  the  leeward  side. 
The  position  of  Kupikipikio  may  be  better  understood  by  noticing 
the  dark  promotory  in  the  distance  in  Plate  96  taken  from  high 
up  the  Head,  and  showing  the  eastern  rim  of  the  crater  as  well. 
Chemically  this  ash  ought  to  correspond  to  the  composition  of 
basalt.  The  black  color  may  be  due  to  its  ferrous  content  or  to 
grains  of  magnetite.  Scattered  through  it  are  white  veins  and 
irregular  masses  in  upright  stems  not  unlike  the  roots  of  trees. 
As  white  particles  are  also  indiscriminately  disseminated,  their 
bunching  together  is  probably  a  concretionary  action.  Dr.  Wil- 
cox  of  the  U.  S.  Experiment  Station,  says  there  is  much  potassium 
in  this  ash,  perhaps  enough  to  be  of  value  to  growing  crops. 
Some  of  the  white  bunches  may  be  potassium  silicates,  allied  to 
massive  zeolites ;  while  most  of  them  are  undoubted  calcium  car- 
bonates probably  derived  from  the  underlying  coral  reefs. 

DIAMOND  HEAD. 

Circumstances  have  led  to  an  extended  study  of  Diamond  Head. 
There  are  seven  tuff  cones  near  the  sea  shore  on  the  southwest 
side  of  Koolaupoko,  of  which  Diamond  Head  or  Leahi  is  one. 
The  others  are  the  two  at  the  salt  lakes  Aliapakai  and  Aliamanu, 
Makalapa,  a  short  distance  to  the  northwest,  Punchbowl  or  Puo- 
waina  at  the  base  of  Tantalus  and  within  the  city  limits  of  Hono- 
lulu, and  the  two  Koko  Heads  near  the  southeast  corner  of  Oahu. 
They  are  all  composed  of  palagonite,  yellow  to  brown  in  color, 
with  resinous  luster;  they  constitute  broad  shallow  saucer-shaped 
craters  with  double  quaquaversal  stratification,  the  inner  dipping 
towards  the  center  and  the  other  parallel  with  the  outer  slope. 
The  brown  color  is  evidence  that  warm  waters  were  concerned 
in  the  making  of  the  cones,  not  necessarily  exceeding-  the  tem- 
perature of  boiling  water. 

Diamond  Head  is  the  most  perfect  as  well  as  the  best  known  of 
all  the  secondary  craters  about  Honolulu.  Visitors  recall  it  as 
the  prominence  seen  just  before  reaching  port  from  the  east,  and 
again  upon  resuming  their  voyage.  Artists  have  vied  with  one 


PLATE  9. 


DIAMOND  HEAD 

FROM  GoveRMMervr  5u«ver 


A.     Map  and  section  of  Diamond  Head. 


B.     Inside  of  Diamond    Head  and  Kupipikio. 


37 

another  in  efforts  to  display  this  beautiful  hill  on  paper  or  can- 
vas, and  every  one  is  interested  in  viewing  the  channeled  water- 
courses upon  the  outside  and  the  barren  rocks  as  contrasted  with 
the  rice  fields,  coconut. groves,  and  the  green  plain  of  Waikiki,  a 
health  resort,  close  to  the  city  at  its  base.  It  is  a  truncated  hol- 
low cone,  4,000  feet  in  the  greater  diameter  of  the  rim,  and  3,300 
in  the  shorter  diameter.  The  elongation  is  in  the  direction  of 
the  trade  wind,  and  consequently  the  southwest  side  is  higher  and 
thicker  than  its  opposite.  This  fact,  first  stated  by  W.  L.  Green 
and  reiterated  by  all  later  authors,  applies  to  many  others  of  the 
secondary  craters  as  well  and  to  the  direction  of  the  spread  of 
the  eolian  beds.  The  southern  highest  part  is  seven  hundred  and 
sixty-one  feet  above  the  sea  at  its  base,  the  opposite  end  being 
somewhat  lower,  and  there  is  not  much  variation  in  the  rim  else- 
where. Inside,  in  the  wet  season,  there  is  a  pond  at  the  lowest 
point,  two  hundred  feet  above  the  sea,  as  near  as  may  be  to  the 
eastern  wall.  From  the  outside  Diamond  Head  looks  like  a  solid 
hill,  and  with  its  reddish  tint  and  apparent  strata  is  very  sug- 
gestive of  buttes  in  the  Chalcedony  park  of  Arizona. 

The  diameters  of  the  base  of  this  crater  are  5,000  and  6,000 
feet  respectively,  making  the  seashore  the  extreme  southwest  limit. 
The  tuff  has  been  recognized  in  the  very  deep  well  sunk  by  James 
Campbell  near  the  seashore  at  Waikiki.  Two  hundred  and 
seventy  feet  of  tuff  were  penetrated  by  the  drill  beneath  fifty 
feet  of  beach  sand  and  gravel.  Beneath  the  tuff  is  a  mass  of 
limestone  five  hundred  and  eight  feet  thick ;  and  the  section  upon 
Plate  gA  shows  the  relations  to  each  other  of  the  tuff,  limestone 
and  basalt  as  deduced  from  our  various  observations.  The  lowest 
part  of  the  interior  is  on  one  side  of  the  center.  A  good  road 
follows  around  the  outside  of  the  cone,  rising  from  near  the  sea 
level  by  the  artesian  well  to  one  hundred  and  seventy  feet  where 
a  road  turns  off  to  the  north.  There  is  very  much  coral  or  eolian 
calcareous  sand  on  the  south  side  of  the  cone  near  the  lighthouse. 
Farther  east  a  marine  limestone  occupies  most  of  the  territory. 

Sir  Archibald  Geikie  calls  attention  to  the  similarity  of  Dia- 
mond Head  to  Monte  Nuovo  near  Naples.  This  is  a  scoriaceous 
tuff  cone  which  was  thrown  up  in  a  few  hours  in  1538,  while 
there  was  other  activity  for  a  week.  Most  travelers  visit  it,  so 
that  it  is  an  object  well  known.  It  is  four  hundred  and  eighty 
nine  feet  high  and  about  one  and  a  half  miles  in  circumference. 
The  larger  part  of  the  famous  Lucerne  lake  here  was  filled  with 
the  stones,  scoria  and  ashes  that  were  ejected  at  the  time  of  its 
origin.  Among  the  fragments  thrown  out  were  pieces  of  Roman 
pottery  and  marine  shells,  which  happened  to  be  situated  in  the 


38 

path  of  the  ascending  outburst.  I  have  been  in  the  habit  of  using 
the  known  history  of  Monte  Nuovo  in  my  lectures  for  the  past 
forty  years  to  illustrate  the  formation  of  tuff  cones,  emphasizing 
the  brevity  of  the  process,  the  stratification  of  the  material  (double 
quaquaversal),  and  the  lack  of  any  disturbances  in  the  adjacent 
territory.  The  temple  of  Pluto  was  partly  covered  by  the  debris, 
but  its  level  has  not  been  affected,  as  it  would  have  been  if  the 
cone  had  been  formed  in  the  manner  suggested  by  L.  von  Buch 
and  Elie  de  Beaumont.  They  believed  that  the  conical  shape 
proceeded  from  an  upheaval  or  swelling  of  the  ground  around 
the  vent  from  which  the  materials  issued. 

Dr.  S.  E.  Bishop  has  very  forcibly  stated  the  brevity  of  tuff 
cone  eruptions  in  the  American  Geologist?-®  using  Diamond  Head 
for  the  illustration  of  the  subject.  Such  a  cone,  he  says,  "could 
have  been  created  only  by  an  extremely  rapid  projection  aloft  of 
its  material,  completed  in  a  few  hours  at  the  most,  and  ceasing 
suddenly  and  finally." 

The  first  proof  of  this  proposition  is  the  extreme  regularity  of 
the  elevated  circular  rim  of  the  cone.  Two-thirds  of  the  ele- 
vated perimeter  represents  nearly  a  complete  circle  about  5,000 
feet  in  diameter,  and  most  of  it  is  about  four  hundred  and  fifty 
feet  above  sea  level.  The  tuff  has  uniform  quaquaversal  layers 
dipping  outwardly  about  thirty-five  degrees,  but  less  upon  the 
inside,  pointing  toward  the  center.  The  southwest  angle  reaches 
the  height  of  seven  hundred  and  sixty-two  feet,  because  the 
strong  trade  wind  deflected  the  lofty  jet  of  tuff  to  leeward  and 
piled  it  up  disproportionately. 

The  second  evidence  of  the  brevity  of  the  eruption  is  derived 
from  an  arithmetical  computation  of  the  time  required  to  deposit 
the  actual  mass  of  the  cone  by  a  fountain  of  adequate  height  to 
deliver  its  ejecta  upon  the  existing  rim  of  the  bowl.  The  total 
mass  is  thirteen  billion  cubic  feet  of  tuff.  This  could  have  been 
discharged  by  a  fountain  with  eight  hundred  and  seventy-five  feet 
of  velocity  per  second,  raised  to  a  height  of  11,925  feet  in  two 
hours'  time.  This  is  given  as  an  approximate  estimate  only,  and 
he  is  disposed  to  increase  the  velocity  and  reduce  the  time,  with 
a  section  area  of  5,000  feet. 

These  statements  of  the  symmetry  of  the  cone  and  of  the  time 
required  for  the  deposition  of  the  mass  are  thought  to  forbid  any 
other  conception  of  formation. 


10  Vol.  XXVII,  1901,  p.  1. 


39 

PUNCHBOWL  AND  DIAMOND  HEAD  COMPARED. 

The  structure  of  Punchbowl  is  like  that  of  Diamond  Head.  It 
is  mostly  composed  of  tuff,  much  of  which  on  the  side  toward  the 
city  has  its  seams  filled  with  calcite.  In  the  quarry  below  the 
reservoir  both  calcite  and  zeolites  are  found,  and  an  occasional 
piece  of  basalt.  The  phenomena  prove  that  the  black  ash  over- 
lies the  tuff,  and  that  a  long  interval  must  have  elapsed  between 
the  ejection  of  the  two  materials,  because  the  inferior  one  has 
been  weathered.  It  is  probable  that  the  first  material  came  from 
beneath  the  sea,  while  the  later  ash,  though  issuing  from  the 
same  vent,  did  not  come  in  contact  with  water,  and  with  it  came 
another  basalt,  that  on  the  summit  of  Punchbowl  and  in  the  dikes 
radiating  from  it.  The  extent  of  the  tuff  to  the  southwest  is 
shown  in  the  well  boring  at  the  Queen's  Hospital,  where  forty- 
seven  feet  of  it  is  reported  underlying  thirteen  feet  of  lime  sand 
and  ten  of  black  ash.  The  Tertiary  is  well  shown  in  a  cutting 
near  by  on  Vineyard  street,  fifteen  feet  of  sand  with  shells  being 
exposed  beneath  the  black  ash. 

Similar  relations  of  the  tuff,  soil,  and  ash  have  been  observed 
near  Moanalua,  where  the  tuff  has  been  covered  by  an  ash  in 
which  may  be  seen  upright  trunks  of  trees.11  Rather  than  as- 
sume the  ashes  to  have  been  erupted  simultaneously  in  the  Hono- 
lulu district,  it  may  be  better  to  say  that  similar  eolian  materials 
have  been  discharged  at  intervals  through  an  unknown  part  of 
Tertiary  time. 

Doctor  Dall  has  noted  the  greater  abundance  of  limestone  in 
Diamond  Head,  where  the  tuff  is  fairly  saturated  with  it,  than  in 
Punchbowl.  A  walk  up  the  southwest  slope  of  Punchbowl  will 
satisfy  any  one  that  the  seams  are  as  fully  filled  with  this  mineral 
as  in  the  northern  part  of  Diamond  Head,  and  in  the  quarry  it  is 
not  wanting,  accompanied  with  zeolites.  It  was  stated  above  that 
over  five  hundred  feet  of  limestone  underlies  the  south  end  of 
Diamond  Head,  and  only  thirty  feet  in  the  well  at  the  Queen's 
Hospital  adjacent  to  Punchbowl.  As  the  volcanic  ejection 
brought  up  the  underlying  rock,  Diamond  Head  should  show 
very  much  more  of  it  than  Punchbowl.  It  is  also  on  the  sea- 
shore adjacent  to  the  reef  from  which  come  quantities  of  eolian 
calcareous  sand.  Punchbowl  is  half  a  mile  distant  from  the 
seashore,  and  therefore  would  not  be  expected  to  be  supplied  so 
abundantly  with  blown  sand. 

An  examination  of  the  inwardly  dipping  layers  near  the  high- 


Geology  of  Oahu,  PI.  6,  Fig.  2. 


40 

est  point  of  Diamond  Head  reveals  a  very  liberal  supply  of  lime- 
stone. It  was  here  that  I  found  coral  and  shells  in  1883.  The 
photograph  in  Plate  96  shows  the  abundant  supply  in  the  layers 
of  tuff  in  the  foreground  on  the  right-hand  side.  The  stand- 
point is  quite  near  the  summit,  and  the  view  was  taken  to  show 
the  rim  of  the  cone,  the  interior,  and  the  black  promontory  of 
Kupikipikio  in  the  distance. 

In  this  connection  it  is  proper  to  advert  to  the  abundance  of 
limestone  in  the  inside  of  the  crater  at  Salt  Lake.  Not  merely 
are  the  fragments  abundant,  but  the  original  reef  itself  must  be 
present.12  The  western  Koko  Head  is  equally  prolific  with  lime- 
stone blocks,  though  from  a  hasty  examination  I  am  not  pre- 
pared to  say  that  the  original  ledge  can  be  detected.  The  lime- 
stone has  not  been  seen  in  the  lowest  part  of  the  inside  of  Dia- 
mond Head. 

THE  TALUS-BRECCIA  DEPOSIT  WITH  LAND  SHELLS. 

At  the  southern  base  of  Diamond  Head,  at  a  quarry  not  far 
from  the  terminus  of  the  electric  road  (1905),  is  an  extensive 
excavation  in  a  talus-breccia  of  tuff  with  a  calcareous  cement. 
This  carries  shells  of  Lapachtinia,  Helicons,  Pitys.  Succinea, 
Pupa  and  Helix  lamblata,  as  heretofore  reported.  A  similar  de- 
posit may  be  found  skirting  the  base  of  the  cone,  probably  on 
every  side  as  well  as  in  the  inside,  but  it  is  seen  to  the  best  ad- 
vantage where  the  new  road  has  cut  into  it  between  the  quarry 
and  the  lighthouse.  Near  the  lighthouse  the  specimens  of  shells 
are  particularly  abundant  because  of  the  greater  magnitude  of  the 
excavations.  To  the  list  given  above  may  be  added  Amastra  and 
Endodonta,  and  Professor  G.  H.  Perkins  found  in  addition,  lower 
down  the  cliff,  the  remains  of  crustacea.  Mr.  C.  Montague  Cooke, 
of  the  Bishop  Museum,  has  discovered  additional  localities  of 
these  shells  upon  Rocky  hill  and  in  Manoa  valley,  scattered 
among  the  uncemented  talus  blocks  of  that  region,  and  in  the 
surface  soil.  The  geological  age  of  all  these  localities  must  be 
the  same.  The  list  of  them,  including  a  few  collected  by  Mr. 
Cooke  and  identified  by  him,  is  as  follows:  Lepachtinia,  five  or 
six  species;  several  of  Amastra;  Tornatella,  two  species;  Pupa; 
Endodonta,  two  species ;  Helicina,  one  species ;  Succinea. 

Mr.  Cooke  speaks  of  them  as  "subfossil."  It  remains  to  be  de- 
termined whether  any  of  the  species  are  extinct. 

This  talus-breccia  must  be  newer  than  the  date  of  the  eruption 


Geology  of  Oahu,  p  38. 


41 

of  the  tuff,  because  it  is  the  same  material,  detached  from  the  cliff 
by  gravity  after  consolidation.  The  cementing  substance  may 
be  either  fragments  of  lime  in  the  tuff  or  blown  sand  from  the 
seashore;  and  there  must  have  been  quite  an  interval  between 
the  ejection  of  the  tuff  and  the  presence  of  the  animals,  because 
the  base  rock  must  have  suffered  disintegration  so  as  to  allow 
the  growth  of  herbs  and  small  trees  and  the  migration  hither- 
ward  of  the  Mollusca.  This  interval  was  probably  the  same  as 
the  one  indicated  at  the  Punchbowl  and  at  Moanalua. 

It  is  highly  probable  that  these  shells  represent  a  late  stage 
of  the  Pliocene,  partly  because  they  seem  to  be  older  than  the  ex- 
isting handsome  species  of  Achatinellidae  and  partly  because  of 
the  presence  of  a  marine  deposit  overlying  the  quarry  mentioned 
above.  Two  views  of  the  origin  of  the  Achatinella  have  been 
promulgated — the  first,  that  of  Professor  Pillsbry,  that  it  has 
come  from  a  type  analogous  to  Limnaea,  as  determined  by 
anatomical  characters;  the  second  a  derivation  from  Bulimulus, 
because  of  conchological  peculiarities. 

THE  LATEST  SUBMERGENCE  AND  BEELEVATION. 

It  would  seem  as  if  there  must  be  evidence  of  the  submergence 
of  Oahu  after  the  accumulation  of  the  talus -breccia  to  the  depth 
of  two  hundred  and  fifty  feet.  The  relation  of  the  deposit  to  the 
talus-breccia  may  be  seen  at  the  quarry,  where  at  the  altitude  of 
about  forty  feet  there  is  a  red  earth  with  many  marine  remains 
directly  overlying  the  talus-breccia.  Beside  the  mollusca,  there 
are  corals  and  remains  of  fish.  This  is  the  only  place  where  the 
relation  of  these  shells  to  the  talus-breccia  is  clear.  What  seems 
to  be  the  same  material  rises  to  two  hundred  feet  at  the  north 
base  of  Diamond  Head  and  is  also  seen  at  the  lower  levels.  I  do 
not  recognize  anything  like  a  shoreline,  but  the  marine  shells  are 
frequent.  Near  Doctor  Wood's  summer  house,  one  hundred  feet 
above  the  ocean,  at  Kupikipikio,  are  Cypreas  and  Turbo,  both 
shells  and  opercula.  The  surface  is  strewn  with  rough  blocks. 
The  shells  are  seen  when  the  lava  fragments  are  thrown  to  one 
side  in  a  very  red  earth,  the  residuary  remains  of  the  Kaimuki 
lava. 

A  study  of  the  fields  at  the  Waialua  plantation  gives  related 
results.  The  cultivated  tracts  seem  like  aqueous  and  residuary 
deposits,  utilized  to  the  height  of  about  three  hundred  feet.  I 
found  shells  and  opercula  of  the  marine  gastropods  in  numerous 
localities  and  Melanias  up  to  two  hundred  and  fifty  feet  altitude. 


I  had  no  opportunity  to  see  these  remains  in  any  excavations; 
they  all  lie  on  the  surface  of  the  ground. 

I  think  a  little  search  will  prove  the  existence  of  seacliffs  toward 
Kaena  point,  to  the  west  of  Waialua.  Looking  from  the  rail- 
road train,  there  seem  to  be  three  wave-cut  terraces  in  the  basalt, 
the  highest  one  at  about  the  level  of  the  shells  picked  up  from 
the  sugar  fields.  The  excavations  may  not  be  strongly  marked, 
as  it  is  presumed  that  the  time  of  the  submergence  was  brief; 
but  it  seems  evident  that  there  must  have  been  a  very  recent  de- 
pression of  the  island  to  the  depth  of  two  hundred  and  fifty  feet, 
very  likely  in  the  Pliocene.  If  so,  the  age  of  the  smaller  land 
shells  in  the  talus-breccia  will  be  established.  As  has  been  re- 
marked, it  would  seem  necessary  for  as  long  a  period  as  that  to 
have  elapsed  to  account  for  the  development  of  the  Achatinellidae. 

RELATION  OF  THE  BASALTIC  EJECTIONS  TO  DIAMOND  HEAD. 

The  question  has  arisen,  What  is  the  relation  of  Kaimuki  to 
Diamond  Head  ?  In  my  geology  of  Oahu  I  have  referred  to  the 
meeting  place  of  the  two  rocks,  at  the  highest  point  reached  by 
the  road  in  the  col  between  the  two  cones  and  near  the  new 
Fort.  The  tuff  has  been  rained  down  upon  the  basalt,  and  there- 
fore Kaimuki  must  be  the  older  of  the  two  ejections.  The  pre- 
sumption is  that  the  other  similarly  situated  basaltic  craters,  like 
Mauumae  and  some  of  the  Laeloa  series,  were  of  the  same  age. 

Some  of  the  basalts  must  have  been  erupted  later  than  the  tuff, 
after  the  land  had  risen,  because  the  material  is  neither  fragmental 
nor  hydrous.  They  are  later  than  the  limestones  which  they  have 
cut  through. 

Some  of  the  artesian  wells  show  the  presence  of  a  thin  basalt 
intercalated  in  limestone  or  earth,  thus  indicating  an  earlier 
eruption. 

ORDER  OF  EVENTS  IN  THE  GEOLOGICAL  HISTORY  OF  OAHU. 

From  the  descriptions  now  presented  it  is  possible  to  make  out 
the  order  of  the  principal  events  in  the  geological  history  of 
this  volcanic  island.  We  are  satisfied  with  the  existence  of 
Tertiary  deposits  antedating  the  rise  of  the  earliest  basaltic  land, 
but  will  not  consider  whether  there  may  have  been  any  rising  of 
the  ocean  floor  in  connection  with  the  eruptions. 

I.  At  the  base  of  Kaala  igneous  eruptions  commenced  under 
water  to  accumulate  sheets  of  basalt  until  finally  the  island  of 


43 

Kaala,  a  smooth  dome  rose  above  the  waters,  which  slowly  became 
covered  by  vegetation  derived  from  distant  regions. 

2.  This  dome  became  extensively  channeled  by  streams  pro- 
duced as  now  by  the  condensation  of  the  moisture  brought  by  the 
northeast  trade  winds  and  Kona  storms.      Both  sides  suffered 
erosion. 

3.  The  island  of  Koolau  came  up  quite  near  to  Kaala  in  a 
similar  manner,  and  laya  flowed  down  so  as  to  conceal  several 
hundred  feet  altitude  of  the  northeast  flank  of  Kaala.      Koolau 
extended  out  to  sea  several  miles  farther  to  the  northeast  than 
at  present. 

4.  Coralline  and  molluscan  limestones  commenced  to  grow  as 
soon  as  the  reef-building  animals  could  migrate  hither.      Doubt- 
less the  work  commenced  in  the  first  period,  and  has  continued 
ever  since,  coeval  with  the  other  phases  of  growth.      If  we  were 
to  judge  of  age  from  the  amount  of  work  accomplished  we  should 
say  the  earlier  stages  of  growth  correspond  to  the  work  done  else- 
where in  the  later  Tertiary.     The  slow  upbuilding  of  the  volcanic 
domes  and  their  subsequent  erosion  required  an  immensely  long 
period  for  their  accomplishment.     The  island  was  also  a  thousand 
feet  higher  than  at  present,  if  the  Darwinian  theory  of  the  origin 
of  coral  reefs  is  true. 

5.  Eruption  of  the  amygdaloidal  basalt  at  the  Pali. 

6.  The  olivinitic  basalt  formed  laccolites  at  the  Pali.      Some 
of  the  dikes,  both  in  the  Kaala  and  Koolau  areas,  may  have  filled 
fissures  at  this  time. 

7.  Eruption  of  an  igneous  agglomerate  containing  pebbles  of 
olivine;   may   have   produced   craters   in   both   areas;   developed 
typically  at  the  Pali. 

8.  Quite  widely  extended  ejection  of  red  ash,  clinker,  and  lava 
at  the  Pali,  and  the  formation  of  Makakilo  and  Kupuai  of  the 
Laeloa  craters ;  some  of  the  Tantalus  series  of  craters. 

9.  Ejection  of  some  of  the  basalts  penetrated  in  sinking  arte- 
sian  wells;   including  also  most  of  the   Laeloa  craters,   Kuua, 
Palailai,  Kapuai ;  also  Kaimuki,  Mauumae,  Rocky  Hill. 

10.  Tuff  craters,  probably  not  all  active  at  the  same  time — 
the  Salt  Lake  group,  Punchbowl,  Diamond  Head,  the  Koko  Heads, 
Kaneohe  group,  etc.     The  tuffs  came  up  through  coral  reefs,  the 
land  probably  being  lower  than  at  present ;  vegetation  as  flourish- 
ing as  at  present.     Five  substages  indicated  along  Oahu  Railway 
and  Land  Company  near  Moanalua  station. 

11.  Decay  of  the  surface  of  the  tuff  and,  of  course,  of  all  the 
other  rocks,  so  as  to  produce  soils. 


44 

12.  Discharge  of  ashes  from  Tantalus,  Punchbowl,  Diamond 
Head,  Koko  Head,  and  elsewhere,  followed  by  showers  of  stones. 

13.  Dikes  cutting  Punchbowl,  Diamond  Head  and  coral  reef, 
Kaena  point,  Kupikipikio,  and  Koko  Head. 

14.  Time  of  the  accumulation  of  calcareous  talus-breccia  with 
Achatinellidae  at  Diamond  Head. 

15.  Depression  to  the  extent  of  two  hundred  and  fifty  feet. 

16.  Elevation  to  the  present  level.     Accumulation  of  dunes. 

MOLOKAI. 

Molokai  is  a  long  narrow  island  running  east  and  west,  thirty- 
five  miles  in  length,  seven  in  average  width  and  with  an  area  of 
two  hundred  and  sixty-one  square  miles.  The  eastern  end  is  the 
highest,  Kamakou  Peak  attaining  the  altitude  of  4,958  feet. 
Nearly  half  of  the  eastern  portion  presents  precipitous  walls 
toward  the  sea,  seemingly  inaccessible  as  seen  from  a  steamer. 
From  the  middle  portion  a  low  peninsula,  Kalaupapa,  extends  to 
the  north  about  three  miles,  upon  which  is  situated  the  famous 
Leper  Sanitarium  at  Kalawao.  As  this  peninsula  can  be  reached 
only  by  vessels  the  situation  is  an  admirable  one  for  the  segrega- 
tion of  these  unfortunates.  Canyons  have  been  worn  back  into 
the  cliffs  from  one  to  six  miles  in  length.  The  second  highest 
peak,  Olokui,  4,600  feet,  is  situated  upon  a  small  table,  connected 
with  Kamakou  by  a  crooked  knife-edge  ridge,  almost  separated 
from  it,  but  channeled  on  all  sides  in  the  amphitheater  style  of 
erosion.  The  land  slopes  on  the  west  side  to  some  two  or  three 
hundred  feet  of  elevation,  and  then  rises  to  Mauna  Loa,  at  a  dome 
1,382  feet.  Thus  the  island  is  a  doublet,  like  Oahu.  On  the 
south  side  the  slope  is  gradual,  and  the  surface  has  been  cut  into 
numerous  gorges,  more  than  fifty  in  number  upon  the  eastern 
section  and  nearly  forty  upon  the  southern  and  western  slopes  of 
the  western  section. 

The  plain  of  Kalaupapa  has  been  traversed  by  lava  streams  of  a 
recent  date,  issuing  from  small  craters.  Among  them  is  a  fam- 
ous opening  or  well  called  Kauhaku.  It  is  simply  a  hole  in  the 
ground  with  no  exterior  crater.  Its  depth  is  not  known,  but  it 
cannot  be  a  great  distance  to  the  sea  level.  Currents  of  air  com- 
monly circulate  through  similar  holes  elsewhere,  at  all  altitudes. 

Molokai  does  not  furnish  a  stable  supply  of  water  adequate 
to  the  support  of  extensive  sugar  plantations.  It  is  because  the 
pumps  exhaust  the  fresh  water  and  then  the  brine  of  the  ocean 
takes  its  place. 


45 

Lanai  is  situated  south  of  Molokai  and  west  of  Maui,  so  that  it 
must  be  protected  from  the  winds.  It  is  twenty  miles  long,  eight 
wide.  The  southeastern  end  is  the  highest,  the  most  elevated 
point  being  3,400  feet  above  the  sea,  and  it  slopes  gradually  to 
the  northwest.  Craters  can  be  made  out,  and  there  are  many 
valleys  radiating  from  the  highest  point,  but  streams  of  water 
are  wanting.  The  soil  is  red,  and  the  vegetation  appears  stunted. 

Kahoolawe  is  not  unlike  Lanai,  but  of  smaller  dimensions,  hav- 
ing an  area  of  sixty-nine  square  miles,  with  its  longest  axis  N.E. — 
S.W.  It  is  on  the  lee  side  of  East  Maui,  separated  by  a  channel 
about  a  mile  in  width.  The  apex  of  the  island  rises  to  1,472  feet. 
The  surface  is  comparatively  smooth,  not  broken  by  ravines.  There 
are  no  streams  but  small  pools  of  fresh  water.  There  may  be  a 
crater  at  the  highest  point,  and  the  layers  seem  to  dip  outwardly 
from  the  center.  Both  Lanai  and  Kahoolawe  have  high  cliffs 
on  the  lee  shore  and  gentle  slopes  to  the  windward.  The  ancient 
volcanoes  of  both  these  islands  must  have  been  entirely  discon- 
nected with  each  other  or  with  Maui. 

MAUI? 

The  general  topographical  features  of  Maui  are  shown  in  the 
illustration  Plate  10.  It  should  be  said  that  the  reliefs  of  Kauai, 
Oahu,  and  Maui  are  copied  from  models  of  those  islands  that 
were  prepared  and  copyrighted  by  Professor  Willis  T.  Pope  of 
the  College  of  Hawaii.  They  are  a  great  improvement  upon  the 
reliefs  of  an  earlier  date,  for  which  I  was  responsible,  with  the 
help  of  Professor  Edgar  Wood  of  the  Normal  School.  I  have 
ventured  upon  some  slight  improvements,  such  as  to  change  the 
scale  in  the  title,  the  removal  of  much  lettering  that  is  too  small 
to  be  readily  seen,  and  to  the  use  of  larger  letters  more  easily 
seen  but  fewer  in  number.  The  descriptive  matter  upon  each  of 
the  reliefs  is  the  same  with  that  given  by  Professor  Pope,  except 
that  I  have  used  the  figures  for  the  Sugar  Crop  of  1907  rather 
than  of  1906. 

This  is  a  double  island  just  like  Oahu,  with  a  similar  history, 
the  western  part  being  much  the  oldest.  The  areas  are  also  more 
completely  separated,  the  width  of  the  neck  being  about  six  miles, 
and  the  altitude  at  the  middle  one  hundred  and  fifty-six  feet  in- 
stead of  eight  hundred  and  eighty-eight  on  Oahu.  The  material 
of  this  low  ground  is  an  eolian  calcareous  sand.  West  Maui 
rises  to  the  altitude  of  5,788  feet  in  Puu  Kukui,  two  miles  south 
of  the  crateriform  Eeke,  4,500  feet.  The  amount  of  erosion  pro- 
duced by  the  streams  is  wonderful,  as  many  as  eighty  canyons 


46 

being  delineated  upon  the  map.  Of  these  five  are  notable  for 
their  great  size,  the  first  pair,  so  to  speak,  consisting  of  lao  run- 
ning upwards  westerly  from  Wailuku  and  joining  Olowaina  upon 
the  southwest,  with  a  knife-edge  gap  between,  of  the  altitude  of 
nearly  3,000  feet.  This  is  comparable  with  the  Nuuanu  valley 
and  the  Pali  of  Oahu.  The  longest  ravine  is  from  Kukui  due 
north  to  the  sea,  about  eight  miles  in  length.  On  the  northeast 
side,  and  north  of  lao  are  the  two  valleys  of  Waihee  and  Waiehu, 
at  whose  base  is  a  large  sugar  plantation.  South  of  the  lao- 
Olowaina  line  are  as  many  as  twenty  deeply  incised  canyons, 
somewhat  irregular.  There  are  two  pinnacles,  one  in  the  lao 
valley  three  hundred  feet  or  more  high,  somewhat  suggestive  of 
the  Tower  of  Pelee  in  Martinique,  and  the  other  Puu  Koai  on  the 
north  side  next  to  the  sea,  six  hundred  and  thirty-four  feet  high. 
East  Maui  has  more  liberal  dimensions,  culminating  in  the 
Pendulum  Peak  or  Pukaoaa  10,032  feet,  on  the  edge  of  the  great 
caldera  Haleakala,  and  with  an  area  six  times  greater  than  that 
of  West  Maui.  Because  of  the  great  altitude  the  trade  wind  de- 
posits its  moisture  chiefly  upon  the  east  side,  thus  providing 
perennial  deluges  below  the  contour  of  7,000  feet  on  the  east, 
and  leaving  an  arid  desert  upon  the  lee  slope.  The  caldera  may 
be  compared  to  an  elbow  bent  to  an  acute  angle,  the  outer  border 
corresponding  to  the  "crazy-bone"  being  sharper  than  the  inner, 
say  45°  and  80°  respectively.  It  is  five  miles  from  angle  to  angle, 
four  miles  from  the  south  wall  to  the  proper  north  edge  of  the 
platform  of  7,000  altitude;  nearly  seven  miles  from  Pendulum 
Peak  to  the  east  wall.  These  walls  slope  both  northerly  and 
easterly  from  2,500  and  3,000  to  2,000  feet  at  the  north  and  over 
1,000  feet  at  the  south.  The  more  northern  is  the  Koolau  gap, 
the  southeastern  the  Kaupo.  The  floor  is  essentially  7,000  feet 
high,  with  sixteen  craters  made  of  cinders  in  the  southern  part  of 
the  depression,  of  which  the  highest  is  nine  hundred  feet,  and 
none  of  them  less  than  four  hundred.  It  will  be  noted  that  this 
depression  corresponds  to  the  wind  gaps  seen  in  the  median 
part  of  all  the  Hawaiian  highlands  like  the  Pali  on  Koolauloa 
in  Oahu  and  the  crest  of  West  Maui.  Yet  the  origin  of  the 
Haleakala  gap  is  most  probably  to  be  sought  in  igneous  rather 
than  aqueous  action.  I  do  not  find  that  observers  have  de- 
scribed the  character  of  the  Koolau  canyon,  whether  distinct 
flows  of  lava  can  be  seen,  or  whether  it  is  a  valley  of  erosion  to  a 
considerable  extent.  The  Kaupo  valley  is  filled  with  igneous 
discharges  sent  forth  before  the  development  of  the  sixteen  small 
craters,  which  by  the  map  seem  connected  with  Kaupo  rather  than 
with  Koolau.  The  complex  structure  of  the  caldera  will  be  set 


PLATE  11, 


A.     Bird's-eve  View  of  Haleakala  on  Maui. 


B.     Inside  of  Haleakala. 


47 

forth  later.  By  the  Pendulum  investigations  of  Mr.  E.  D.  Pres- 
ton, it  would  appear  that  Haleakala  is  a  solid  mountain,  in  dis- 
tinction from  Mauna  Kea  and  Mauna  Loa,  where  subterranean 
lava  tunnels  abound. 

Two  views  of  Haleakala  are  presented.  Plate  nA  is  a  re- 
storation— an  attempt  to  show  the  appearance  of  the  caldera  as 
if  one  were  situated  in  a  balloon  a  thousand  feet  above  trie  high- 
est point.  It  is  reduced  from  a  painting  by  E.  Bailey,  based  upon 
W.  D.  Alexander's  early  map.  Plate  nB  is  a  photograph  of  the 
south  wall  of  Kaupo,  with  views  of  some  of  the  smaller  craters 
inside  the  pit,  taken  by  Mr.  R.  C.  Barrows  of  the  University  of 
Wisconsin. 

The  most  striking  feature  in  the  topography  is  the  presence  of 
numerous  canyons  wherever  the  rainfall  has  been  considerable. 
East  of  Kaupo  there  are  twenty-two  of  them  before  reaching  the 
east  point  of  the  island;  thirteen  between  Nahiku  and  the  outlet 
of  Koolau,  twenty-six  between  Koolau  and  the  western  limit  near 
Haiku.  Although  there  is  plenty  of  rainfall  in  the  district  of 
Hana,  the  canyons  are  wanting :  due,  one  would  say,  to  the 
recency  of  the  lava  flows  there.  The  map  seems  to  indicate  an 
eastern  projection  of  the  island.  There  is  an  enormous  depres- 
sion called  Kipahulu  to  the  eastward  of  Haleakala  not  yet  geo- 
logically studied,  which  with  some  other  smaller  craters  would 
seem  to  have  been  competent  to  discharge  the  lavas  of  Hana.  The 
absence  of  deep  canyons  on  the  west  side  of  Haleakala  has  been 
already  stated  to  be  due  to  the  absence  of  any  considerable  rain- 
fall. There,  are,  however,  a  dozen  shallow  ones  there.  Thus 
East  Maui  furnishes  excellent  illustrations  of  the  formation  of 
canyons  as  well  as  their  absence,  upon  the  same  high  mountains. 

Between  Kaupo  and  Hana  upon  the  south  side  of  the  island  it 
is  impracticable  to  build  roads  along  the  sea  shore,  and  conse- 
quently the  traveling  is  excessively  wearisome,  it  being  necessary 
to  descend  into  every  gorge  and  rise  to  every  ridge  from  four 
hundred  to  seven  hundred  feet  each.  The  intervals  between  them 
are  rarely  as  great  as  half  a  mile,  and  often  the  separating  plat- 
form is  a  mere  edge.  The  trail  is  well  built,  but  the  constant 
succession  of  ascents  and  descents  renders  traveling  there  very 
tiresome  for  the  beasts  of  burden.  The  ravines  are  represented  to 
be  wonderful  scenes  of  tropical  vegetable  splendor. 

The  abundant  rainfall  upon  Maui  has  been  utilized  for  irrigat- 
ing the  sugar  plantations  upon  the  west  and  north  sides  of  Halea- 
kala. There  was  first  the  one  built  in  1878  by  Baldwin  and 
Alexander.  Next  came  one  situated  on  the  same  windward  side 
of  the  island,  constructed  in  1879-80  by  Mr.  Spreckels.  It  is 


48 

about  thirty  miles  long,  of  fifty  million  gallons  daily  capacity 
delivered  at  an  elevation  of  two  hundred  and  fifty  feet,  and  is 
known  as  the  Haiku  ditch.  A  third,  called  the  Lowrie  ditch, 
was  finished  in  1904.  It  gathers  the  water  at  an  elevation  of 
1,250  feet  and  discharges  into  the  other  ditches.  It  is  ten  miles 
long,  of  which  seven  and  one-half  are  in  tunnels,  the  rest  being 
in  open  canals  and  flumes.  The  tunnels  are  all  in  solid  rock, 
thirty-eight  in  number,  eight  feet  wide  and  seven  high,  with  a 
daily  capacity  of  eighty-five  million  gallons.  Water  is  conveyed 
by  these  tunnels  as  far  as  to  Kihei  on  the  south  shore  of  the  island. 
Upon  West  Maui  the  Honokahau  ditch  has  been  completed  re- 
cently, having  a  daily  capacity  of  thirty  million  gallons.  It  is 
thirteen  and  a  half  miles  long  on  a  grade  of  five  feet  per  mile,  lias 
two  hundred  feet  of  thirty-six-inch  syphon  pipes  and  three  and  a 
half  miles  of  tunneling.  The  water  is  delivered  at  the  elevation 
of  seven  hundred  feet.  Six  million  gallons  are  obtained  at  an 
altitude  of  2,600  feet  from  a  tunnel  in  solid  rock  2,600  feet  long, 
whose  exterior  surface  showed  no  signs  of  water  like  springs  and 
streams.  This  ground  water  is  very  constant,  fluctuating  slightly 
with  the  rainfall  in  the  immediate  vicinity,  while  the  mountain 
behind  rises  3,000  feet  higher  than  the  excavation. 

HAWAH. 

Hawaii  is  the  most  important  island  of  the  archipelago,  in  all  re- 
spects, whether  physiographic,  volcanic  or  historic.  It  is  the 
largest,  with  an  area  of  4,015  square  miles,  has  its  culminating 
point  in  Mauna  Kea,  13,825  feet,  and  has  been  made  by  the 
coalescence  of  the  volcanic  discharges  from  five  volcanoes,  Ko- 
hala,  Mauna  Kea,  Mauna  Loa,  Hualalai  and  Kilauea.  An  in- 
spection of  the  map,  Plate  14,  will  at  once  illustrate  the  special 
development  of  these  several  areas.  First  is  Kohala  at  the  north 
end,  with  its  enormous  cliffs  and  deeply  dissected  canyons,  indi- 
cating a  greater  antiquity.  It  stands  apart  from  the  other  centers 
with  a  smaller  area,  separated  from,  both  Mauna  Kea  and  Huala- 
lai by  comparatively  low  ground.  Second,  Mauna  Kea  is  covered 
by  cinder  cones  and  is  more  like  the  volcanic  piles  of  other  coun- 
tries than  its  typical  Hawaiian  neighbors.  Its  seaward  border  is 
precipitous  but  with  much  less  elevation  than  its  neighbor  on  the 
north,  while  on  the  south  Kilauea  lacks  any  considerable  cliffs 
opposite  the  sea.  From  Mauna  Loa  it  is  separated  by  a  col 
6,600  feet  high.  The  former  greater  extent  seaward  is  obvious. 
Third,  Mauna  Loa  barely  reaches  the  sea,  or  not  enough  for  the 
development  of  cliffs.  The  protrusion  seaward  is  clearly  ap- 


PLATE  14. 


Map  of  Hawaii. 


49 

parent  upon  inspecting  the  map.  It  lies  between  the  two  vol- 
canoes Kilauea  and  Hualalai,  both  of  which  come  to  the  sea 
level  without  cliffs,  because  there  has  not  been  time  enough  to 
develop  them. 

Hawaii  affords  the  data  for  observing  the  differences  between 
subaerial  and  marine  erosion,  as  well  as  their  combined  action. 
The  northeastern  shore  has  felt  the  influence  of  the  waves  of'  the 
Pacific,  urged  along  for  thousands  of  miles  by  the  trade  wind. 
Probably  the  action  of  these  sea-waves  is  nowhere  exceeded  in 
their  efficiency,  and  there  is  a  direct  connection  between  the 
amount  of  the  erosion  or  the  size  of  the  cliffs  and  the  length  of 
time  during  which  the  action  of  the  water  has  been  operative. 

In  Puna  there  are  no  cliffs  of  enough  consequence  to  be  de- 
lineated upon  the  Government  map,  and  the  lava  has  flowed  to  the 
sea  within  a  hundred  years.  The  same  is  true  about  the  village  of 
Hilo :  so  that  here  the  erosion  has  been  of  the  least  consequence. 
The  slope  seaward  is  about  one  hundred  and  twenty-five  feet  to 
the  mile.  Towards  Kohala  it  is  somewhat  steeper  and  has  been 
cut  into  ravines,  nearly  seventy  in  number,  for  forty  miles,  while 
the  shores  are  vertical  cliffs.  Hence  the  road  must  cross  all  these 
ravines  in  zigzag  courses,  rendering  traveling  in  Hamakua  very 
exhausting.  There  are  many  sugar  plantations  along  this  coast, 
often  times  the  streams  fall  over  precipices  not  far  below  the  road, 
so  that  it  is  dangerous  to  wade  across  the  water  where  the  cur- 
rent is  strong.  If  one  loses  his  footing  he  will  be  carried  down 
over  precipices  sixty  to  seventy  feet  deep.  Captain  Dutton  esti- 
mates that  the  sea  has  encroached  upon  the  east  base  of  Mauna 
Kea  as  much  as  two  or  three  miles.  The  cliffs  and  the  country 
behind  can  be  seen  very  perfectly  as  one  sails  along  the  coast. 
The  gulch  named  Hakalau,  opposite  Mauna  Kea,  is  said  to  be 
nearly  2,000  feet  deep.  The  road  passes  along  the  seashore  at 
the  mouth  of  the  valley. 

After  passing  the  coast  of  Hamakua,  the  cliffs  increase  in 
height  within  the  Kohala  district.  They  are  1,500  feet  high  for  a 
distance  of  twelve  miles,  and  the  land  recedes  very  perceptibly 
where  the  erosion  has  been  the  greatest.  Streams  of  water  can 
be  seen  from  the  passing  steamer,  pouring  down  these  high  cliffs. 
The  canyons  are  very  wide  and  the  plains  at  their  bottoms,  a 
mile  wide,  are  very  fertile  and  constitute  the  favorite  places  for 
residences  of  the  native  Hawaiians.  Three  of  these  canyons  are 
very  well  shown  upon  the  map.  Waipio  is  the  most 
celebrated.  Communication  between  these  valleys  is  had  only  by 
means  of  canoes.  The  people  living  there  are  as  much  isolated 
as  upon  Molokai.  So  immense  are  these  valleys  that  some  have 


50 

been  led  to  ascribe  their  origin  to  volcanic  disturbances.  It  is 
better  to  adopt  the  theory  of  erosion,  and  to  believe  that  the  land 
formerly  extended  some  ten  or  twelve  miles  out  to  sea,  and  con- 
sequently the  original  Kohala  island  must  have  had  an  antiquity 
as  great  as  either  West  Oahu  or  West  Maui.  The  curvature  of 
the  Waipio  valley  instead  of  representing  a  block  of  lava  fallen 
down  from  the  main  mass  is  an  illustration  of  the  tendency  to 
form  amphitheaters  by  erosion.  Doubtless  there  have  been  ex- 
amples of  the  falling  of  segments  by  faulting,  in  order  to  account 
for  the  depth  of  the  cliffs  under  water.  This  is  the  style  of 
change  common  upon  Hawaii,  as  seen  in  the  long  cliffs  in  the 
Kau  desert  south  of  Kilauea. 

The  greater  age  of  Kohala  is  also  indicated  by  the  vegetation ; 
the  forests  there  are  more  diversified  than  any  others  upon  the 
whole  island. 

The  earlier  authors  have  usually  agreed  that  the  region  of  Ko- 
hala was  the  oldest  part  of  Hawaii.  It  is  easy  to  go  further  and 
modify  the  usual  statement  of  the  growth  of  the  archipelago  from 
N.W.  to  S.E.  by  saying  that  in  an  ancient  period  Kauai,  West 
Oahu,  West  Maui  and  Kohala  constituted  the  group,  all  of  about 
the  same  age.  It  is  conceivable  that  several  of  the  existing 
islands — like  Maui,  Molokai  and  Lanai — may  be  consolidated  in 
the  next  geological  period,  and  constitute  an  area  comparable  with 
that  of  Hawaii. 

MAUNA  KEA. 

Mauna  Kea  is  the  white  mountain  of  Hawaii  as  indicated  by  the 
name.  It  is  capped  with  snow  for  a  longer  time  and  more  often 
than  any  other  summit  in  the  archipelago,  because  of  its  greater 
altitude,  13,825  feet.  The  snow  prevails  from  November  till 
March,  and  intermittently  later  in  the  year.  I  never  saw  snow 
of  a  more  dazzling  white  than  what  fell  in  connection  with  thun- 
der showers  on  July  23,  24,  25,  1905.  The  snow  furnishes  the 
material  for  the  pond  Waiau,  one  hundred  and  twenty-five  feet 
long  above  14,000  feet.  This  body  of  water  is  situated  in  the 
midst  of  an  extinct  crater.  Ice  forms  in  it  even  in  the  summer, 
the  temperature  falling  as  low  as  13°  F.  in  the  middle  of  July. 

Mauna  Kea  is  a  cone  with  a  diameter  of  thirty  miles,  rather 
ellipsoidal,  with  a  northwesterly  trend,  and  a  corrugated  surface, 
whether  seen  from  the  north  or  south.  See  Plate  13.  Mauna 
Loa  differs  from  it  by  having  a  comparatively  smooth  surface. 
Being  younger  there  has  not  been  the  opportunity  to  multiply  cin- 
der cones  upon  it.  If  the  early  history  of  Mauna  Kea  has  been 


PLATE  12. 


sunnn  PLATLAU 


MAUMA  KEA 


JOOOO         ff. 


A.     Summit  Plateau  of  Mauna  Kea. 


B.     Cinder  cone  near  summit  of  Mauna  Kea. 


like  that  of  Mauna  Loa  these  cinder  cones  cover  an  ancient  cal- 
dera.  There  are  many  canyons  about  the  base  of  Mauna  Kea 
which  are  likewise  criteria  of  a  greater  age. 

Mauna  Kea  is  ascended  from  the  east  and  southwest  sides,  or 
from  the  coast  and  the  sheep  ranch  Humuula  in  the  col  between 
Kea  and  Loa.  The  slope  is  usually  as  much  as  twelve  degrees, 
but  more  upon  the  north  side.  Mauna  Loa  may  show  a  slope  of 
seven  degrees  where  steepest,  but  only  four  degrees  where  the 
whole  dome  is  kept  in  view. 

There  is  a  sort  of  plateau  upon  the  higher  part  of  Mauna  Kea 
above  the  contour  of  12,500  feet,  with  an  area  of  from  thirty-five 
to  forty  square  miles.  It  is  shown  in  Plate  12  A,  which  is  a  copy 
of  the  map  prepared  by  Prof.  W.  D.  Alexander  in  1892  when  in 
the  company  of  the  party  of  Mr.  E.  D.  Preston  of  the  U.  S. 
Coast  and  Geodetic  Survey.  Upon  this  plateau  above  the  contour 
of  6,500  feet  are  scattered  more  than  seventy-five  cinder  cones, 
mostly  of  a  red  color.  Similar  cones  are  scattered  less  numerously 
upon  the  flanks  of  the  mountain.  Towards  the  southwestern  base 
some  of  the  material  is  black,  though  red  at  the  surface  because  of 
weathering.  Some  of  it  cannot  be  distinguished  from  the  black 
ash  covering  a  large  part  of  the  city  of  Honolulu. 

These  cones  correspond  so  closely  with  the  related  "terminal"1 
craters  at  the  heads  of  the  flows  upon  Mauna  Loa  that  I  reproduce  a 
sketch  of  a  very  fine  one  seen  from  the  summit  of  Mauna  Kea, 
Plate  I2B,  taken  from  Mr.  Preston's  report,  U.  S.  G.  &  G.  S.,  1893, 
The  observer  stands  upon  the  very  summit  of  Mauna  Kea,  Ku- 
kahaula,  and  looks  southwesterly.  In  the  foreground  appear 
the  rough  blocks  at  the  summit,  one  crater  near  by  and  two  or 
three  others  in  the  distance,  besides  the  one  that  is  so  prominent 
in  front,  and  is  taken  as  the  representative  of  the  others.  It  has 
the  typical  slope  of  the  true  cinder  cone.  Judging  from  the 
phenomena  presented  at  the  making  of  the  corresponding  cones 
upon  Mauna  Loa  there  was  a  stream  of  liquid  lava  either  quietly 
welling  up  or  rising  as  a  column  in  the  center.  As  this  material 
fell  to  the  ground  about  the  orifice,  it  was  divided  into  fragments 
known  as  cinders  or  lapili,  and  then  still  finer  volcanic  ash  and 
dust,  of  which  the  impalpable  part  may  be  blown  into  the  atmos- 
phere and  transported  by  the  wind  to  great  distances.  The 
Mauna  Kea  summit  cones  are  usually  perfect;  those  that  appear 
elsewhere  have  one  side  worn  down  to  permit  the  still  liquid 
streams  to  flow  away.  Later  this  crevasse  was  enlarged  by  the 
action  of  subaerial  water  seeking  a  lower  level. 

The  cone  at  the  summit  is  covered  by  blocks  of  consolidated 
lava,  including  many  bombs,  some  of  them  three  or  four  feet 


52 

long  in  shape  like  ornamental  ear-pendants.  Those  that  I  ex- 
amined had  a  nucleus  of  olivine  enveloped  by  a  white  basaltic 
rock — much  as  if  the  darker  silicates  had  been  segregated  into 
a  central  mass  while  the  whiter  feldspars  aggregated  them- 
selves to  the  exterior.  Observers  who  are  not  experts  may  be 
excused  for  calling  this  material  granite;  so  much  does  it  super- 
ficially resemble  that  rock.  The  whole  mass,  before  the  green 
core  and  white  exterior  have  been  broken  apart  is  properly  a 
volcanic  bomb. 

This  grayish  white  rock  seems  to  be  identical  with  a  stone  used 
by  the  Hawaiians  very  extensively  as  a  sinker  in  catching  cuttle- 
fish. I  once  saw  a  pile  of  them,  perhaps  two  hundred  in  number, 
gathered  from  many  different  localities.  Doubtless  many  of 
them  came  from  this  mountain  because  at  Keanakakoi  close  by 
Waiau  is  the  quarry  from  which  the  best  of  the  Hawaiian  adzes 
and  poi  pounders  were  obtained.  The  implements  made  of  the 
white  stone  are  elliptical,  flat  upon  the  bottom  and  encircled  by  a 
groove  along  the  major  diameter.  To  this  stone  elegantly  col- 
ored shells  like  the  Mauritanian  cowrie  (Cypraea)  are  fastened 
by  a  string  from  which  large  hooks  are  suspended.  This  ap- 
paratus is  sunk  in  shallow  water  where  this  cuttlefish  has  its 
home.  The  creatures  are  attracted  by  the  bright  colors,  approach 
the  bait  and  have  their  tentacles  so  entangled  in  the  hooks  that 
they  are  easily  drawn  to  the  surface  and  captured.  The  flesh 
of  this  animal  constitutes  a  food  of  which  others  besides  natives 
are  fond. 

The  stone  of  which  the  adzes  are  made  is  very  fine  grained 
and  compact  and  of  a  light  gray  color,  with  a  darker  fracture 
when  fresh,  and  it  flakes  readily.  I  do  not  find  any  notice  of 
its  petrographical  character,  but  can  understand  it  to  be  a  basalt 
with  much  triclinic  feldspar  present.  There  are  plenty  of  re- 
jects and  fragments  that  have  been  chipped  off  from  the  manu- 
factured tools  about  the  quarry. 

The  plateau  is  so  high  that  men  and  animals  are  muc  i  affected 
by  mountain  sickness  when  traversing  it.  Except  for  the  ex- 
haustion of  the  horses  when  they  reach  this  level  there  is  no 
difficulty  in  riding  all  the  way  from  the  base  to  the  summit.  The 
sides  of  the  cinder  cones  are  steep,  but  the  route  may  be  made 
circuitous,  avoiding  sharp  grades. 

Upon  a  clear  day  the  view  from  this  summit  is  impressive.  Be- 
sides the  lowland  adjacent  and  the  contiguous  summits  of  Mauna 
Loa  and  Hualalai,  Haleakala  stands  out  conspicuously.  Mauna 
Loa  is  marked  by  a  serrated  gap,  and  parts  of  the  encircling 
walls  are  distinct,  the  summit  being  about  twenty  nrles  distant. 


53 

But  the  most  instructive  view  is  that  of  the  several  historic  lava 
flows,  of  1843,  J852,  1855,  1880,  and  1899.  They  are  all  nar- 
row and  tortuous  near  their  sources,  spreading  out  low  down  into 
black  extensive  areas  almost  coalescing.  Besides  these  others 
of  prehistoric  age  can  be  traced — and  nowhere  can  one  be  more 
impressed  by  the  fact  that  the  mountain  has  been  built  up 
by  intermittent  lava  flows,  and  can  appreciate  the  certainty  that 
millions  of  years  were  required  to  construct  this  eminence. 

Several  of  the  party  of  the  Blonde  ascended  Mauna  Kea  in 
July,  1825,  accompanied  by  a  "missionary  and  botanist,"  Rev.  Mr. 
Goodrich  of  Hilo  writes  of  an  ascent  made  by  him  August  27, 
1825.  He  brought  back  specimens  of  the  "granite"  from  the 
summit,  as  well  as  the  fine  grained  basalt  used  for  the  manu- 
facture of  adzes.  James  Jackson  Jarves  climbed  to  the  summit 
in  1840,  bringing  back  specimens  of  "augite,  hornblende  and 
olivine."  He  looked  into  Mokuaweoweo  and  reported  that  there 
were  no  signs  of  activity,  not  even  ascending  vapors.  In  the 
early  part  of  January,  1841,  Dr.  Charles  Pickering  of  the  Wilkes 
Exploring  Expedition,  made  the  ascent  and  noted  the  same  fea- 
tures mentioned  by  his  predecessors,  such  as  the  ice  and  several 
cones  of  volcanic  origin.  In  a  desolate  gravelly  plain  he  found 
a  few  plants  suggestive  of  a  colder  climate,  probably  the  same 
that  were  brought  back  by  Mr.  Preston  and  named  authorita- 
tively, such  as  Cystopteris  fragilis,  Trisetum  glomeratum,  Poa 
annua  and  Deschampsia  australis. 

The  following  notes  were  made  by  me  in  1886,  when  I  made 
the  ascent  of  this  mountain  in  company  with  D.  Howard  Hitch- 
cock, E.  L.  Gulick  and  Mr.  Burt  of  Hilo.  Reached  Bougainville 
900  feet  above  sea  level  the  evening  of  June  18.  This  is  a  planta- 
tion belonging  to  Judge  David  Hitchcock,  who  cultivates  many 
fruits,  flowers  and  vegetables. 

June  19.  Left  Bougainville  at  5  130  A.  M.  Walked  through 
the  jungle — a  fearful  mass  of  mud  too  deep  for  safe  riding. 
Proceeded  up  the  flow  of  1855  for  fourteen  miles  and  then  veered 
over  to  the  southeast  slope  of  Mauna  Kea,  reaching  a  mountain 
house,  Puakala,  over  6,000  feet  above  the  sea,  constructed  by 
Mr.  Hitchcock.  It  is  sixteen  and  a  half  miles  in  a  direct  line 
from  Hilo,  thirty-five  by  the  road.  Note  that  the  lava  has  a 
greenish  color,  and  that  canyons  begin  to  be  conspicuous. 

June  20.  Spent  Sunday  in  camp.  The  house  is  built  of  Koa 
wood. 

June  21-22.  Delayed  by  stormy  weather  for  the  start.  The 
party  killed  three  bullocks.  The  lava  is  partly  compact  with  a 
micaceous  mineral — partly  vesicular  and  partly  a  breccia,  covered 


54 

by  reddish  decayed  volcanic  ashes  several  feet  thick,  which  were 
thought  to  correspond  with  the  loess-like  material  seen  at  Hilo, 
and  in  Kau.  Reached  the  summit  later  in  the  day.  Counted 
twenty-three  volcanic  cones,  mainly  of  lapilli,  from  the  summit. 
The  party  somewhat  affected  by  mountain  sickness.  Saw  enor- 
mous lava  bombs  near  the  summit,  made  of  solid  olivine  and 
white  basalt.  Can  see  into  the  crater  of  Mokuaweoweo.  Re- 
turned to  Puakala. 

Satisfactory  observations  were  taken  with  the  pendulum  and 
compared  with  those  made  at  Hilo,  Kalaioha,  Waimea  and  Ka- 
waihae.  From  the  determination  of  the  densities  of  a  large  col- 
lection of  rocks  gathered  upon  Mauna  Kea  and  other  localities 
upon  the  island,  Mr.  Preston  estimates  the  mean  specific  gravity 
at  2.90.  Assuming  from  the  results  of  his  calculations  that  the 
density  of  the  earth  is  1 .77  times  the  density  of  the  mountain,  the 
mean  specific  gravity  of  the  whole  earth  should  be  5.13. 

PUU  WAAWAA. 

When  one  is  at  the  landing  of  Kawaihae,  he  may  see  a  curious 
hill  to  the  south  at  the  base  of  Hualalai  called  Puu  Waawaa.  It 
is  a  fluted  cone  several  hundred  feet  higher  than  its  base  which 
is  3,300  feet  above  sea  level.  The  name  in  the  Hawaiian  lan- 
guage signified  fluted.  There  are  numerous  ravines  radiating 
from  the  summit  penetrating  the  slopes  for  fifty  or  more  feet, 
all  of  them  apparently  formed  by  the  downward  flowage  of  rain 
water.  The  material  is  tuff  made  of  ash  or  fine  gravel  contain- 
ing angular  fragments — and  it  has  the  structure  of  the  ordinary 
cinder  cone,  quaquaversal  stratification. 

This  cone  is  not  far  removed  from  the  Mauna  Loa  flow  of  1859. 
There  is  a  descent  from  it  to  the  west  of  about  1,800  feet  ito 
another  hill  called  Puu  Anahulu  and  the  slope  is  bordered  on  the 
east  by  a  cliff  facing  the  1859  flow.  This  terraced  slope  has  been 
covered  by  the  lava  from  both  Hualalai  and  Mauna  Loa.  Puu 
Waawaa  has  also  been  encircled  by  lavas  from  Hualalai  which 
covered  up  the  original  floor  between  the  two  eminences.  The 
fact  of  the  more  ancient  age  of  these  cones  is  very  obvious  to 
the  observer  upon  the  steamer  going  north  from  Kailua.  He  can 
see  that  lava  of  a  darker  color  has  flowed  downwards  around 
Puu  Waawaa,  proving  that  the  fluted  cone  is  older  than  the 
basaltic  flows.  Nor  is  the  fluted  character  so  obvious  from  the 
seaward  side. 

While  this  cone  has  arrested  attention,  Dr.  Whitman  Cross 
seems  to  have  been  the  first  scientific  man  to  visit  it,  and  he  has 


55 

published  his  observations  in  the  Journal  of  Geology  No.  6, 
Vol.  XII,  October,  1904,  entitled  "An  occurrence  of  trachyte  on 
the  Island  of  Hawaii."  The  terrace  bench  of  Puu  Anahulu  he 
represents  as  made  of  an  agglomerate  aggregate  of  large  and 
small  fragments  of  a  felsitic  trachyte.  The  rock  here  has  suf- 
fered decomposition  by  kaolinization.  Both  this  original  and 
decayed  portion  "exhibit  a  rude  schistority  due  to  a  parallel  ar- 
rangement of  minute  feldspar  tablets,  like  that  common  in  phono- 
lite  and  some  trachyte."  The  fragments  at  Puu  Waawaa  consist 
of  brown  pumice,  dark  aphanitic  or  black  obsidian-like  rocks, 
with  some  showing  a  mingling  of  the  latter  materials.  The  dark 
aphanitic  fragments  are  not  unlike  some  dense  basalts  of  the 
island  in  appearance,  yet  resemble  also  the  freshest  rock  from 
the  boulders  of  Puu  Anahulu.  "Thin  sections  of  the  obsidian  show 
it  to  be  a  colorless  glass  containing  streams  of  feldspar  micro- 
lites  in  some  parts  and  free  from  them  in  others.  The  dull 
aphanitic  streaks  and  masses  are  largely  crystalline,  with  more 
or  less  of  fine  magnetic  dust  and  ferritic  globulites,  and  a  color- 
less glassy  base  of  variable  amount."  Chemical  analyses  of  these 
rocks  were  made  under  Dr.  Cross'  directions  by  Dr.  Hillebrand 
of  the  U.  S.  Geological  Survey,  and  the  surmise  of  their  trachytoid 
character  well  substantiated.  Further  notices  of  the  petro- 
graphic  character  are  given  in  the  Appendix. 

The  finding  of  lava  rich  in  alkali  feldspar,  where  heretofore 
only  basalt  and  allied  rocks  had  been  noted,  is  a  matter  of  great 
importance  and  Dr.  Cross  rightly  assumes  that  there  may  have 
been  quite  extensive  eruptions  of  these  lavas,  and  that  there  is 
an  ancient  trachytic  island  here  beneath  the  basaltic  flows  from 
the  great  volcanoes  of  Mauna  Kea,  Mauna  Loa,  and  Hualalai; 
and  that  "if  further  exposures  of  the  trachytoid  rocks  are  found, 
it  seems  to  me  probable  that  they  will  be  in  the  area  of  the  Wai- 
mea  plain,  which  extends  practically  from  Puu  Anahulu  for 
twenty  miles  northeasterly  to  the  north  base  of  Mauna  Kea,  or 
in  the  northern  and  oldest  basaltic  section  of  the  island,  the  Ko- 
hala  mountains.  The  peculiar  petrographic  character  of  these 
rocks  therefore  substantiates  the  doctrine  heretofore  stated,  of 
the  greater  age  of  the  Kohala  group  of  hills  as  indicated  by  the 
enormous  erosion  to  which  they  have  been  subjected. 

Mr.  R.  S.  Hosmer  informs  me  that  there  is  an  isolated  area 
of  dense  forest  just  north  of  Keokeo  in  Kona.  It  should  be 
examined  so  that  it  may  be  determined  whether  it  is  underlaid 
by  older  rocks  or  is  a  spared  monument  of  a  once  more  extensive 
woodland. 


PART  1 1 

The   History   of   the   Exploration    of 
Mauna  Loa. 


MAUNA  LOA. 

This  term  is  applied  to  an  immense  dome  seventy-four  by  fifty- 
three  miles  in  its  two  diameters  as  measured  at  the  sea  level, 
and  13,650  feet  in  altitude.  Its  mass  extends  downwards  more 
than  16,000  feet  farther  to  the  level  of  the  submarine  plain  at  the 
bottom  of  the  sea  upon  which  the  whole  Hawaiian  Archipelago  is 
situated.  That  would  be  a  cone  30,000  feet  in  height  and  as 
much  as  a  hundred  miles  wide  within  which  are  one  or  more 
conduits  leading  to  the  reservoir  of  lava  which  supplied  the  ma- 
terial for  the  various  eruptions.  It  is  probable  that  the  cone 
may  rest  upon  sediments  of  Tertiary  age,  like  the  sister  island  of 
Oahu. 

The  first  word  is  equivalent  to  Mount,  and  the  second  signifies 
great  or  long.  Some  authors  prefer  to  say  Mount  Loa  rather 
than  Mauna  Loa.  The  natives  call  the  caldera  at  the  summit 
Mokuaweoweo.  The  great  dome,  so  far  as  can  be  judged,  is 
composed  of  overlapping  sheets  of  basalt,  both  aa  and  pahoehoe. 
Those  at  the  surface  are  of  known  age,  or  certainly  younger  than 
those  that  are  deep  seated.  There  are  no  large  canyons  upon  its 
surface  produced  by  the  erosion  of  streams,  because  the  deposi- 
tion of  the  sheets  is  so  recent.  Above  10,000  feet  there  is  scarcely 
any  vegetation.  The  expanse  is  entirely  composed  of  basalt 
showing  evidences  of  many  interlacing  streams  of  lava.  The 
surface  is  nearly  level  for  the  extent  of  four  or  five  square  miles. 

Mr.  Ellis  who  explored  Hawaii  in  1823  has  nothing  to  say  of 
Mokuaweoweo,  while  he  writes  fully  of  Kilauea.  Pele  is  located 
definitely  at  Kilauea.  I  have  not  yet  discovered  any  native  tra- 
ditions respecting  eruptions  from  the  larger  volcano.  It  may  be 
that  the  earlier  explorers  were  not  aware  of  the  character  of 
Mauna  Loa.  Ellis  represents  it  as  covered  by  snow  throughout 
the  year.  It  is  uninhabitable,  and  therefore  its  eruptions  would 
not  usually  be  fraught  with  disaster  to  the  inhabitants,  and  thus 
would  be  scarcely  mentioned  in  the  traditions.  When  Hawaii 


57 

shall  have  been  studied  carefully  it  will  be  possible  to  give  the 
sequence  of  several  pre-historic  eruptions.  One  of  these  is  Kea- 
moku,  an  expanse  on  the  north  side  of  the  mountain  adjacent  to 
and  underlying  the  flow  of  1843.  The  fact  that  it  is  distinguished 
upon  the  Government  map  indicates  that  the  surveyors  were  im- 
pressed by  its  recency.  It  starts  from  the  cone  of  Kokoolau  8,000 
feet  high,  and  terminates  at  the  altitude  of  3,000  feet  at  the  hill 
whose  name  is  now  applied  distinctively  to  the  flow  itself.  Its 
area  is  very  much  the  same  with  that  of  the  well  known  eruption 
of  1843,  extending  down  hill  for  twenty-one  miles,  the  first  third 
of  the  way  proceeding  due  north,  and  then  to  the  northwest. 
The  area  of  1843  laPs  over  the  edge  of  Keamoku. 

I  find  very  nearly  the  same  name  applied  to  an  aa  flow  on  the 
opposite  side  of  the  mountain,  along  which  the  new  Kau  Volcano 
road  runs  for  several  miles.  This  is  supposed  to  be  connected 
with  a  broad  stream  starting  just  below  Puu  Ulaula  seven  miles 
east  of  Mokuaweoweo.  Upon  most  of  the  maps  this  stream  is 
represented  to  have  the  date  of  1823,  and  to  have  been  connected 
with  the  discharge  from  Kilauea  of  that  date,  described  by  Mr. 
Ellis.  This  gentleman,  however,  makes  no  allusion  to  the  ex- 
istence of  any  recent  stream  descending  from  Puu  Ulaula  in  that 
year,  nor  does  he  have  anything  to  say  about  eruptions  from 
Mauna  Loa.  Our  illustrations,  Plates  14  and  26,  will  show  the 
lack  of  connection  between  this  early  flow  of  aa  and  the  eruption 
in  Ponahohoa ;  and  anyone  who  will  take  the  pains  to  scrutinize 
this  aa  along  the  Kau  Volcano  road  will  be  satisfied  that  it  is 
much  older  than  1823.  I  have  questioned  Professor  W.  D. 
Alexander  and  Mr.  W.  E.  Wall,  the  Government  surveyors,  upon 
whose  maps  this  late  date  is  given,  and  they  do  not  recall  their 
authority  for  this  label.  Hence  I  regard  this  flow  as  belonging 
to  an  unknown  prehistoric  date — but  one  of  great  importance. 

EARLY  HISTORIC  ERUPTIONS. 

The  first  considerable  knowledge  of  the  Hawaiian  Islands  was 
acquired  by  Captain  Cook  in  1778-9.  From  the  narrative  illus- 
trative of  this  expedition  I  find  the  following  description  of  the 
features  of  a  part  of  Hawaii,  which  all  who  are  familiar  with  the 
island  will  recognize  as  truthful. 

"The 13  coasts  of  Kaoo  present  a  prospect  of  the  most  horrid 
and  dreary  kind,  the  whole  country  appearing  to  have  undergone 
a  total  change  from  the  effects  of  some  dreadful  convulsion.  The 

13Capt.  Cook's  Voyage  to  the  Pacific  Ocean,  Vol  3,  by  Captain  Joseph 
King,  LL.D.,  F.R.S.,  p.  104. 


58 

ground  is  everywhere  covered  with  cinders,  and  intersected  in 
many  places  with  black  streaks,  which  seem  to  mark  the  course 
of  a  lava  that  has  flowed,  not  many  ages  back,  from  the  mountain 
Roa  to  the  shore.  The  southern  promontory  looks  like  the  mere 
dregs  of  a  volcano.  The  projecting  headland  is  composed  of 
broken  and  craggy  rocks,  piled  irregularly  on  one  another  and 
terminating  in  sharp  points." 

THE  FIRST  KNOWN  ATTEMPT  TO  ASCEND  MAUNA  LOA. 

John  Ledyard,  the  famous  traveler,  was  one  of  the  seamen  of 
Captain  Cook's  party  in  1779  when  they  were  anchored  off  Keala- 
kekua.  I  will  quote  the  greater  part  of  his  narrative  from 
A  Journal  of  Captain  Cook's  last  voyage  to  the  Pacific  Ocean 
and  in  quest  of  a  northwest  passage  between  Asia  and  America. 
Printed  and  sold  by  Nathaniel  Patton,  Hartford,  Conn.,  1783, 
p.  117. 

On  the  26th  of  January  I  sent  a  billet  on  board  to  Cook,  desir- 
ing his  permission  to  make  an  excursion  into  the  interior  parts  of 
the  country,  proposing,  if  practicable,  to  reach  the  famous  peak 
that  terminated  the  height  of  the  island.  My  proposal  was  not 
only  granted,  but  promoted  by  Cook,  who  very  much  wanted 
some  information  respecting  that  part  of  the  island,  particularly 
the  peak,  the  tip  of  which  is  generally  covered  with  snow  and 
had  excited  great  curiosity.  He  desired  the  gunner  of  the  Reso- 
lution, the  botanist  sent  out  by  Mr.  Banks  and  Mr.  Simeon  Wood- 
ruff, to  be  of  the  party.  He  also  procured  us  some  attendants 
among  the  natives  to  assist  us  in  carrying  our  baggage  and  direct- 
ing us  through  the  woods.  It  required  some  prudence  to  make 
a  good  equipment  for  this  tour,  for  though  we  had  the  full  heat 
of  a  tropical  sun  near  the  margin  of  the  island,  we  knew  we 
should  experience  a  different  temperament  in  the  air  the  higher 
we  advanced  towards  the  peak,  and  that  the  transition  would  be 
sudden,  if  not  extreme.  We  therefore  took  each  of  us  a  woolen 
blanket,  and  in  general  made  some  alteration  in  our  dress,  and 
we  each  took  a  bottle  of  brandy.  Among  the  natives  who  were 
to  attend  us  was  a  young  chief  whose  name  was  O'Crany  and 
two  youths  from  among  the  commonalty.  Our  course  lay  east- 
ward and  northward  from  the  town,  and  about  two  o'clock  in 
the  afternoon  we  set  out.  When  we  had  got  without  the  town, 
we  met  an  old  acquaintance  of  mine  (who  ought  indeed  to  have 
been  mentioned  before).  He  was  a  middle  aged  man,  and  be- 
longed to  the  order  of  their  Mida  or  priesthood,  his  name  was 
Kunneava.  We  saluted  each  other,  and  the  old  man  asked  with 


59 

much  impatient  curiosity  where  we  were  going;  when  we  had  in- 
formed him  he  disapproved  of  our  intention,  told  us  that  we 
could  not  go  as  far  as  we  had  proposed,  and  would  have  per- 
suaded us  to  return;  but  finding  we  were  determined  in  our  re- 
solves, he  turned  and  accompanied  us;  about  two  miles  without 
the  town  the  land  was  level,  and  continued  of  one  plain  of  little 
enclosures  separated  from  each  other  by  low  broad  walls. 
Whether  this  circumstance  denoted  separate  property,  or  was  done 
solely  to  dispense  with  the  lava  that  overspread  the  surface  of  the 
country,  and  of  which  the  walls  were  composed,  I  cannot  say, 
but  probably  it  denotes  a  distinct  possession.  Some  of  these  fields 
were  planted,  and  others  by  their  appearance  were  left  fallow. 
In  some  we  saw  the  natives  collecting  the  coarse  grass  that  had 
grown  upon  it  during  the  time  it  had  lain  unimproved,  and  burn- 
ing it  in  detached  heaps.  The  sweet  potatoes  are  mostly  raised 
here,  and  indeed  are  the  principal  object  of  their  agriculture,  but 
it  requires  an  infinite  deal  of  toil  on  account  of  the  quantity  of 
lava  that  remains  on  the  land,  notwithstanding  what  is  used 
about  the  walls  to  come  at  the  soil,  and  besides  they  have  no  im- 
plements of  husbandry  that  we  could  make  use  of  had  the  ground 
been  free  from  the  lava.  If  anything  can  recompense  their  labor 
it  must  be  an  exuberant  soil,  and  a  beneficent  climate.  We  saw  a 
few  patches  of  sugar  cane  interspersed  in  moist  places,  which 
were  but  small.  But  the  cane  wras  the  largest  and  as  sweet  as 
any  we  had  ever  seen ;  we  also  passed  several  groups  of  plantain 
trees. 

These  enclosed  plantations  extended  about  three  miles  from  the 
town,  near  the  back  of  which  they  commenced  and  were  succeeded 
by  what  we  called  the  open  plantations.  Here  the  land  began 
to  rise  with  a  gentle  ascent  that  continued  about  one  mile,  when 
it  became  abruptly  steep.  These  were  the  plantations  that  con- 
tained the  breadfruit  trees.  ****** 

After  leaving  the  breadfruit  forests  we  continued  up  the  ascent 
to  the  distance  of  a  mile  and  a  half  further,  and  found  the  land 
there  covered  with  wild  fern,  among  which  our  botanist  found  a 
new  species.  It  was  now  near  sundown,  and  being  upon  the 
skirts  of  these  woods  that  so  remarkably  surrounded  this  island 
at  a  uniform  distance  of  four  or  five  miles  from  the  shore,  we 
concluded  to  halt,  especially  as  there  was  a  hut  hard  by  that 
would  afford  us  a  better  retreat  during  the  night  than  what  we 
might  expect  if  we  proceeded.  When  we  reached  the  hut  we 
found  it  inhabited  by  an  elderly  man,  his  wife  and  daughter,  the 
emblem  of  innocent  uninstructed  beauty.  They  were  somewhat 
discomposed  at  our  appearance  and  equipment,  and  would  have 


6o 

left  their  house  through  fear  had  not  the  Indians  (natives)  who 
accompanied  us  persuaded  them  otherwise,  and  at  last  reconciled 
them  to  us.  We  sat  down  together  before  the  door,  and  from 
the  height  of  the  situation  we  had  a  complete  retrospective  view 
of  our  route,  of  the  town,  of  part  of  the  bay  and  one  of  our  ships, 
besides  an  extensive  prospect  on  the  ocean,  and  a  distant  view  of 
three  of  the  neighboring  islands. 

It  was  exquisitely  entertaining.  Nature  had  bestowed  her 
graces  with  her  usual  negligent  sublimity.  The  town  of  Kiree- 
kakooa  and  our  ship  in  the  bay  created  the  contrast  of  art  as  well 
as  the  cultivated  ground  below,  and  as  every  object  was  partly 
a  novelty  it  transported  as  well  as  convinced. 

As  we  had  proposed  remaining  at  this  hut  the  night,  and  being 
willing  to  preserve  what  provisions  we  had  ready  dressed,  we  pur- 
chased a  little  pig  and  had  him  dressed  by  our  host  who  rinding 
his  account  in  his  visitants  bestirred  himself  and  soon  had  it 
ready.  After  supper  we  had  some  of  our  brandy  diluted  with 
the  mountain  water,  and  we  had  so  long  been  confined  to  the 
poor  brackish  water  at  the  bay  below  that  it  was  a  kind  of  nectar 
to  us.  As  soon  as  the  sun  set  we  found  a  considerable  difference 
in  the  state  of  the  air.  At  night  a  heavy  dew  fell  and  we  felt  it 
very  chilly  and  had  recourse  to  our  blankets  notwithstanding  we 
were  in  the  hut.  The  next  morning  when  we  came  to  enter  the 
woods  we  found  there  had  been  a  heavy  rain  though  none  of  it 
had  approached  us  notwithstanding  we  were  within  200  yards 
of  the  skirts  of  the  forest.  And  it  seemed  to  be  a  mat- 
ter of  fact  both  from  the  information  of  the  natives  and  our  own 
observations  that  neither  the  rains  or  the  dews  descended  lower 
than  where  the  woods  terminated,  unless  at  the  equinoxes  or 
some  periodical  conjuncture,  by  which  means  the  space  between 
the  woods  and  the  shores  were  rendered  warm  and  fit  for  the  pur- 
poses of  culture,  and  the  sublimated  vegetation  of  tropical  pro- 
ductions. We  traversed  these  woods  by  a  compass  keeping  a 
direct  course  for  the  peak,  and  was  so  happy  the  first  day  as  to 
find  a  foot-path  that  trended  nearly  our  due  course  by  which 
means  we  traveled  by  estimation  about  15  miles,  and  though 
it  was  no  extraordinary  march  had  circumstances  been  different, 
yet  as  we  found  them,  we  thought  it  a  very  great  one  for  it  was 
not  only  exceedingly  miry  and  rough  but  the  way  was  mostly  an 
ascent,  and  we  had  been  unused  to  walking,  and  especially  to 
carrying  such  loads  as  we  had.  Our  Indian  companions  were 
much  more  fatigued  than  we  were,  though  they  had  nothing  to 
carry,  and  what  displeased  us  very  much  would  not  carry  any- 
thing. The  occasional  delays  of  our  botanical  researches  de- 


6i 

layed  us  something.  The  sun  had  not  set  when  we  halted  yet 
meeting  with  a  situation  that  pleased  us,  and  not  being  limited 
as  to  time  we  spent  the  remaining  part  of  the  day  as  humour  dic- 
tated, some  botanizing  and  those  who  had  fowling  pieces  with 
them  in  shooting;  for  my  part  I  could  not  but  think  the  present 
appearance  of  our  encampment  claimed  a  part  of  our  attention, 
and  therefore  set  about  some  alterations  and  amendments.  It 
was  the  trunk  of  a  tree  that  had  iell  by  the  side  of  the  path  and 
lay  with  one  end  transversely  over  another  tree  that  had  fallen 
before  in  an  opposite  direction,  and  as  it  measured  22  feet  in 
circumference  and  lay  4  feet  from,  the  ground,  it  afforded  very 
good  shelter  except  at  the  sides  which  defect  I  supplied  by  large 
pieces  of  bark  and  a  good  quantity  of  boughs  which  rendered  it 
very  commodious,  and  we  slept  the  night  under  it  much  better 
than  we  had  done  the  preceding,  notwithstanding  there  was  a 
heavy  dew  and  the  air  cold ;  the  next  morning  we  set  out  in  good 
spirits  hoping  that  day  to  reach  the  snowy  peak,  but  we  had  not 
gone  a  mile  forward  before  the  path  that  had  hitherto  so  much 
facilitated  our  progress  began  not  only  to  take  a  direction  south- 
ward of  west  but  had  been  so  little  frequented  as  to  be  almost 
effaced.  In  this  situation  we  consulted  our  Indian  convoy,  but 
to  no  purpose.  We  then  advised  among  ourselves  and  at  length 
concluded  to  proceed  by  the  nearest  rout  without  any  beaten  track, 
and  went  in  this  manner  about  4  miles  further  finding  the  way 
even  more  steep  and  rough  than  we  had  yet  experienced,  but 
above  all  impeded  by  such  impenetrable  thickets  as  would  render 
it  impossible  for  us  to  proceed  any  further.  We  therefore  aban- 
doned our  design  and  returning  in  our  own  track  reached  the 
retreat  we  had  improved  the  last  night,  having  been  the  whole 
day  in  walking  about  10  miles,  and  had  been  very  assiduous  too. 
We  found  the  country  here  as  well  as  at  the  seashore  universally 
overspread  with  lava,  and  also  saw  several  subterranean  ex- 
cavations that  had  every  appearance  of  past  eruption  and 
£re>  ****** 

The  next  day  about  two  o'clock  in  the  afternoon  we  cleared 
the  woods  by  our  old  rout,  and  by  six  o'clock  reached  the  tents, 
having  penetrated  about  24  miles  and  we  supposed  within  II 
of  the  peak.  Our  Indians  were  extremely  fatigued  though 
they  had  no  baggage,  and  we  were  well  convinced  that  though 
like  the  stag  and  the  lion  they  appear  fit  for  expedition  and  toil, 
yet  like  those  animals  they  are  fit  for  neither,  while  the  humbly 
mule  will  persevere  in  both. 

According  to  an  attitude  of  the  quadrant,  the  Peak  of  Owyhee 
is  35  miles  distant  from  the  surface  of  the  water,  and  its 


62 

perpendicular  elevation  nearly  2  miles.  The  island  is  exactly 
90  leagues  in  circumference,  is  very  nearly  of  a  circular  form, 
and  rises  on  all  sides  in  a  moderate  and  pretty  uniform  ascent 
from  the  water  to  the  Peak,  which  is  sharp  and  caped,  as  I  have 
before  observed,  with  snow,  which  seems  to  be  a  new  circum- 
stance, and  among  us  not  altogether  accounted  for.  As  a  truth 
and  a  phenomenon  in  natural  philosophy  I  leave  it  to  the  world. 
Owyhee  has  every  appearance  in  nature  to  suppose  it  once  to 
have  been  a  volcano.  Its  height,  magnitude,  shape  and  perhaps 
its  situation  indicate  not  only  that,  but  that  its  original  formation 
was  effected  by  such  a  cause.  The  eastern  side  of  the  island  is 
one  continued  bed  of  lava  from  the  summit  to  the  sea,  and  under 
the  sea  is  50  fathoms  water  some  distance  from  the  shore;  and 
this  side  of  the  island  utterly  barren  and  devoid  of  even  a  single 
shrub.  But  there  is  no  tradition  among  the  inhabitants  of  any 
such  circumstance. 

VANCOUVER'S  EXPLORATION. 

The  next  English  expedition  to  the  Hawaiian  Islands  after  the 
death  of  Captain  Cook  was  that  commanded  by  George  Van- 
couver in  the  year  1793-4,  published  in  1798.  Vancouver  had 
visited  the  islands  before,  having  been  connected  with  the  staff  of 
Captain  Cook.  King  George  the  Third  commissioned  him  to  ex- 
plore distant  lands  for  a  term  of  four  years  and  to  aid,  so  far  as 
possible,  in  the  improvement  of  the  early  nationalities.  Thus  he 
was  the  agent  of  the  importation  of  domestic  cattle  into  Hawaii. 
The  Hawaiian  King  placed  a  kapu14  upon  them  for  ten  years, 
which  proved  effectual  for  their  continuance.  At  the  present 
date  it  is  possible  to  obtain  descendants  of  these  early  cattle  just 
as  lions  and  elephants  may  be  hunted  in  Africa.  Sheep  were  also 
turned  loose  in  the  forests  by  Vancouver,  but  they  did  not  sur- 
vive long  because  they  were  hunted  down  by  dogs.  Other  do- 
mestic animals  that  have  reverted  to  the  wild  state  are  swine, 
horses,  dogs,  poultry  and  turkeys. 

Upon  the  eleventh  of  January,  1794,  Vancouver  observed  col- 
umns of  smoke  arising  from  Kilauea,  which  were  recognized  as 
volcanic  exhalations.  After  reaching  the  anchorage  of  Karaka- 
kooa  parties  were  organized  to  explore  the  interior,  under  the 
direction  of  Archibald  Menzies,  the  distinguished  botanist.  They 
first  ascended  Hualalai,  or  Worroivay,  which  they  found  to  be  a 


14  The  early  spelling  of  this  word  is  Taboo,  whence  it  has  been  incor- 
porated into  our  speech.  When  the  native  pronunciation  became  better 
understood  Taboo  became  Kapu. 


63 

volcano  over  8,000  feet  high,  with  several  small  well  defined 
craters  upon  its  summit,  which  were  figured  in  the  narrative.  A 
second  trip  penetrated  the  forest  between  Hualalai  and  Mauna 
Loa  for  a  distance  of  sixteen  miles.15  Finally  the  successful  at- 
tempt was  made  to  ascend  Mauna  Loa.  Vancouver  did  not  pre- 
sent the  results  of  this  trip  in  his  narrative,  for  some  unexplained 
reason.  Being  fully  persuaded  that  the  manuscript  account  of 
this  exploration  must  be  in  existence,  I  authorized  Dr.  Henry 
Woodward,  the  well  known  English  geologist,  to  search  for  it  in 
London,  and  through  his  efforts  have  come  into  possession  of  a 
copy.  Because  of  its  great  value  as  a  record  of  the  first  attempt 
to  climb  this  mountain  by  Europeans,  and  of  the  condition  of  the 
volcano  at  that  time,  it  is  herewith  presented  in  full. 

ARCHIBALD  MENZIES'  JOURNAL. 

Feb.  5,  1794.  Having  by  the  fifth  finished  the  letters  and  pack- 
ages for  England,  and  delivered  them  to  Capt.  Vancouver  to  be 
forwarded  in  the  "Doedalus"  store  ship  which  was  on  the  point 
of  sailing  for  New  South  Wales,  I  was  desirous  of  making  another 
attempt  to  gain  the  summit  of  Mownaroa :  for  this  purpose  I  con- 
sulted with  Tamaikamaika  not  only  on  the  means  but  likewise 
on  the  best  route  for  accomplishing  such  an  object;  when  he  as- 
sured me  that  the  most  likely  way  of  succeeding  was  to  ascend  it 
from  the  South  side  of  the  Island,  to  which  I  must  go  by  water 
in  one  of  his  canoes,  and  that  he  should  take  care  to  send  with 
me  a  Chief  well  acquainted  with  the  proper  route,  who  should 
possess  proper  authority  to  protect  me  from  any  ill-usage  in  the 
journey  and  have  ample  power  to  procure  provisions,  attendants, 
or  whatever  else  should  be  found  necessary  to  accomplish  so  ardu- 
ous an  undertaking.  With  such  flattering  attention  from  the 
King,  and  such  prospect  as  he  represented  of  succeeding,  I  read- 
ily accepted  his  generous  offer  and  cheerfully  consigned  myself 
to  the  care  and  guidance  of  Rookea  the  Chief  whom  he  now  ap- 
pointed to  conduct  the  Expedition,  and  to  whom  he  delivered 
the  strictest  injunctions  respecting  his  charge :  the  business  being 
thus  settled  we  prepared  for  our  departure  on  the  following  day : 
in  the  meantime  Lieut.  Baker  and  Mr.  McKenzie  of  The  Dis- 
covery' and  Mr.  Haddington  of  The  Chatham'  expressed  their 
desire  of  accompanying  us  and  obtained  leave  from  their  Com- 
manders to  share  in  the  pleasures  as  well  as  in  the  fatigues  and 
hardships  of  this  enterprise. 


15  Printed  for  the  first  time  in  Thrum's  Annual  for  1908. 


Feb.  6th.  Being  all  equipped  we  set  out  from  the  vessels  in 
the  afternoon  of  the  6th  of  February,  with  the  Chief  and  about 
20  paddlers,  in  a  large  double  canoe  belonging  to  the  King,  and 
before  we  left  the  Bay  we  were  join'd  by  Mr.  Howell  who  was  to 
accompany  us  in  another  double  canoe,  with  his  own  attendants. 

We  now  proceeded  along  the  shore  to  the  southward  for  about 
four  miles  from  Karakakooa,  when  we  came  to  the  Village  of 
Haunanow,  where  we  landed  for  the  night.  We  expressed  our 
desire  of  going  further  on  but  the  Chief  told  us  that  there  was 
not  a  place  at  the  next  village  sufficient  to  accommodate  so  large 
a  party,  for  which  reason  he  wished  us  to  remain  here  all  night. 

7th.  Next  day  we  embarked  again,  by  day-light,  in  the  two 
canoes  and  got  but  a  short  distance  when  we  came  opposite  to  a 
small  village  where  the  Chief  wanted  us  to  land  to  breakfast,  but 
this  we  overrul'd  by  declaring  that  we  were  not  hungry  as  we 
wished  to  get  on  as  far  as  we  could  in  the  cool  of  the  morning: 
the  next  stage  was,  however,  such  a  long  one  that  we  afterwards 
regretted  not  having  taken  his  advice,  for  the  coast  was  dreary 
and  rocky  and  the  shore  so  steep  and  rugged  that  we  found  no 
place  where  we  could  land  till  it  was  near  noon,  when  we  entered 
a  small  bay  surrounded  at  the  bottom  by  a  sandy  beach  and 
groves  of  Cocoa  Palm  Trees  well  croppd  with  fruit:  here  we 
landed  at  a  small  village  called  Honomazino  where  the  King  or- 
dered us  to  be  supplied  with  a  stock  of  Cocoa-Nuts  for  our  jour- 
ney, and  upwards  of  200  of  them  were  packed  up  for  that  pur- 
pose, the  greatest  part  of  which  were  sent  on  men's  backs  across 
the  side  of  the  mountain  to  meet  us  in  our  ascent  on  the  other  side. 

After  refreshing  and  resting  ourselves  in  the  heat  of  the  day  we 
were  anxious  to  proceed  again  in  the  cool  of  the  evening  but  the 
natives  informed  us  that  there  was  too  much  wind  to  get  around 
the  next  point  with  the  canoes,  so  that  we  were  obliged  to  remain 
here  for  the  night. 

The  country  round  us  at  this  place  was  so  rugged,  dreary  and 
barren,  that  the  natives  were  obliged  to  depend  a  good  deal  upon 
the  sea  for  their  sustenance.  Wrhen  the  fishing  canoes  came  into 
the  Bay  in  the  evening  we  had  an  opportunity  of  observing  their 
manner  of  traffic  with  one  another  as  the  whole  village,  and  peo- 
ple even  from  other  villages  flocked  about  them  and  a  brisk  mar- 
ket was  kept  up  till  they  disposed  of  all  their  fish  for  small  nails 
and  bits  of  iron  and  sometimes  we  observed  that  they  drove  very 
hard  bargains.  Of  these  nails  the  fishermen  make  their  fish- 
hooks and  no  doubt  are  obliged,  in  their  turn,  to  purchase  pota- 
toes, yams,  cloth,  &c  from  the  Planters;  thus  we  find  that  nails 
and  bits  of  iron  here  answer  all  the  purposes  of  money  and  circtt- 


65 

late  amongst  the  natives  in  the  same  way  that  gold  and  silver 
does  with  us. 

The  coast  here  is  composed  of  huge  masses  of  rocky  lava  so 
porous  and  cavernous  that  the  sea  pervades  it  and  renders  all  the 
springs  of  water  in  the  low  ground  and  about  the  villages  brakish, 
that  we  were  obliged  to  send  4  or  5  miles  up  the  country  for  good 
water,  yet  such  is  the  force  of  habit  that  the  natives  could  use  this 
brakish  water  very  freely. 

8th.  At  8  next  morning  I  observed  the  Barometer  at  high 
water  mark  where  I  found  the  Mercury  stood  at  3oin  iSpts  and 
the  Thermometer  was,  at  the  same  time,  74°. 

Before  I  left  the  'Discovery'  I  compared  my  Barometer  with 
the  Marine  Barometer  on  board  and  found  them  to  agree  in 
height  pretty  nearly;  it  was  therefore  settled  on  to  register  the 
height  of  the  Marine  Barometer  in  Karakakooa  Bay  every  two 
hours  between  eight  in  the  morning  and  six  the  evening,  daily, 
during  my  absence,  and  at  one  or  other  of  these  hours  I  was  to 
make  my  observations  at  the  different  stations  on  the  Mountain, 
and  by  taking  afterwards  the  difference  of  the  corresponding  ob- 
servations made  at  the  same  instant  of  time,  the  result  would  cer- 
tainly prove  more  accurate  than  the  mode  I  adopted  in  my  former 
journey,  more  especially  in  case  of  any  particular  change  of 
weather  taking  place  while  we  were  ascending  the  Mountain. 

After  the  whole  party  had  breakfasted  we  left  Honomazino  in 
our  canoes  about  nine  in  the  morning  and  soon  after  passed  the 
western  part  of  the  Island  which  is  a  dreary  tract  of  the  most 
rugged  rocks  of  lava  scattered  here  and  there  with  some  fisher- 
men's huts.  About  noon  we  came  to  a  small  village  named 
Manaka  where  found  our  Chief  Rookea's  residence  and  where  we 
landed  before  his  house  at  a  small  gape  between  rugged  precipices 
against  which  the  surges  dashed  and  broke  with  such  violence 
and  agitation  and  with  such  horrific  appearance,  that  even  the  idea 
of  attempting  it  chilled  us  with  the  utmost  dread.  We,  however, 
quietly  submitted  ourselves  to  their  guidance  and  were  highly 
pleased  to  see  the  extraordinary  dexterity  with  which  they  man- 
aged this  landing.  Having  placed  their  canoe  in  readiness  before 
the  gape  they  watched  attentively  for  a  particular  surge  which 
they  knew  would  spend  itself  or  be  overcome  in  the  recoil  of  the 
preceding  surges  before  it  could  reach  the  rocks,  and  with  this 
surge  they  dashed  in,  landed  us  upon  a  rock  from  which  we 
scrambled  up  the  precipice  and  in  an  instant  about  50  or  60  of 
the  natives  at  the  word  of  command  shouldered  the  canoe  with 
everything  in  her,  and  clambering  up  the  rugged  steep,  lodged 
her  safely  in  a  large  Canoe-House  upon  the  brink  of  the  precipice, 


66 

to  our  utmost  astonishment.  The  other  canoe  was  landed  in  the 
same  manner,  and  as  the  Chief  had  some  arrangements  to  make, 
we  were  obliged,  in  compliance  with  his  request  to  remain  at  this 
dreary-looking  place  all  night,  and  a  situation  more  barren  and 
rugged  can  scarcely  be  imagined.  The  kind  civilities  and  good 
treatment  received  from  the  natives  were,  however,  unremitting, 
and  here,  as  if  to  make  amends  for  the  dreariness  of  the  situation, 
they  particularly  exerted  themselves  by  every  means  in  their 
power  to  amuse  and  entertain  us.  The  Chief  and  his  people  were 
equally  eager  and  attentive  in  doing  little  acts  of  kindness  and 
thereby  assiduously  displaying  their  unbounded  hospitality. 

On  seeing  near  this  village  a  large  pile  of  stones  built  regularly 
up  in  a  square  form  on  the  brink  of  the  shore,  curiosity  prompted 
us  to  enquire  what  was  the  intent  of  it,  when  they  informed  us 
that  it  was  erected  to  mark  out  the  limits  between  the  two  dis- 
tricts of  Akona  and  Kaoo,  by  which  we  found  out  that  we  had 
now  reached  the  southern  limits  of  Akona. 

In  the  afternoon  our  attention  was  at  one  time  directed  to  a 
number  of  young  women  who  stripped  themselves  quite  naked 
upon  the  summit  of  a  pending  cliff,  and  taking  a  short  run  vaulted 
one  after  another  from  the  brink  of  it  headlong  into  the  sea,  re- 
gardless of  the  foamed  and  agitated  appearance  of  that  element, 
and  as  it  were  setting  its  wildest  commotions  at  defiance,  for  at 
this  time  the  surf  ran  very  high  and  dashed  with  furious  force 
against  the  cliff,  yet  they  dexterously  disentangled  themselves, 
and  clambering  up  the  rock  again,  repeated  their  leaps  several 
times  with  seeming  satisfaction  till  they  were  quite  fatigued.  The 
cliff  was  at  least  thirty  feet  high  and  so  very  rugged  with  packed 
rocks  which  were  now  and  then  deluged  with  a  boisterous  surf, 
that  to  look  down  the  precipice  was  enough  to  intimidate  any 
one  not  accustomed  to  such  extraordinary  feats  of  activity. 

The  Chief  here  packed  up  a  quantity  of  dried  fish  to  be  carried 
with  us,  and  presented  each  of  us  with  a  mat  and  a  quantity  of 
Island  Cloth  to  lay  on  at  night  during  our  journey. 

pth.  After  an  early  breakfast  on  the  morning  of  the  9th  we 
were  again  launched  in  our  canoes  and  proceeded  to  the  South- 
ward, keeping  close  along  shore  within  the  recoil  of 
the  surges  where,  tho  the  water  is  much  agitated  they  conceive 
less  danger  of  swamping  as  their  canoes  are  much  more  lively 
upon  it  than  much  further  out  at  sea;  yet,  notwithstanding  our 
great  confidence  in  their  dexterity  and  management,  we  could 
hardly  divest  our  minds  of  the  idea  of  danger  when  beholding 
every  moment  the  boisterous  surges  dashing  with  such  furious 
violence  against  the  rugged  and  cavernous  cliffs  high  over  our 


67 

heads  and  threatening  us,  as  it  were,  every  instant  with  over- 
whelming destruction,  nor  were  the  appearances  of  the  surges 
breaking  on  the  other  side  of  us  at  times  less  awfull,  as  they 
threatened  to  deluge  and  waft  us,  in  their  foaming  course  towards 
the  rocks.  We,  however,  got  through  this  wild  navigation  with 
no  other  inconvenience  than  that  of  our  apprehensions,  and  getting 
all  very  wet. 

This  part  of  the  coast  is  a  dreary  rugged  tract  composed  of 
black  porous  rock  of  lava  forming  here  and  there  grotesque  arches, 
vaults  and  deep  caverns  into  which  the  sea  pushes  by  the  violence 
and  agitation  of  the  waves  with  great  force  and  frequently  gushes, 
up  again  several  yards  inland  through  chinks  and  crevices  with  a. 
hissing  noise,  into  the  form  of  fountains  which  in  the  sunshine- 
reflect  all  the  colours  of  the  rainbow.  These  often  rivetted  our 
attention  as  we  went  along  and  made  us  forget  our  own  danger  in 
admiring  their  beautiful  and  picturesque  appearances. 

We  at  last  prevailed  on  them  to  quit  the  windings  of  the  Shore 
where  we  were  under  so  much  dread,  and  steer  a  straighter  course 
across  some  small  bays  none  of  which  appeared  fit  for  anchorage, 
from  their  being  too  much  exposed,  and  early  in  the  afternoon  we 
landed  at  a  small  village  called  Pateence  near  the  South  point  of 
the  Island.  We  took  up  our  abode  in  a  house  belonging  to  Cava- 
hero,  and  they  told  us  that  the  village,  which  consisted  only  of  a 
few  fishermen's  huts,  belong  to  Namahanna,  Teamottoo's  wife. 
The  country  between  this  and  Manaka,  the  place  we  left  in  the 
morning,  is  one  continued  tract  of  loose,  rough  and  picked  lava, 
the  most  dreary  and  barren  that  can  possibly  be  conceived,  so 
that  it  would  be  a  tedious  and  fatiguing  journey  to  come  from 
thence  by  land  and  such  as  even  the  natives  themselves  seldom 
attempt,  for  when  they  wish  to  visit  the  south  side  of  the  Island 
they  generally  come  thus  far  in  canoes  from  the  west  side,  and 
leave  them  here  till  they  return  again,  so  that  this  forms  a  com- 
mon port  at  which  there  were  several  arrivals  to  and  fro  in  the 
course  of  the  evening. 

Our  Chief  advised  us  to  remain  here  all  night  and  as  we  knew 
so  little  of  the  country  we  were  obliged  to  be  entirely  under  his. 
controul.  The  afternoon  was  spent  in  covering  up  our  canoes  upon 
the  beach,  to  preserve  them  from  the  sultry  weather,  and  in  pre- 
paring everything  for  our  land  expedition  which  was  to  commence 
the  next  morning.  From  hence  we  had  a  full  view  of  the  snowy 
summit  of  the  mountain  which  shewd  a  remarkable  glaring  lustre 
from  the  sun's  reflection.  Some  of  the  party  that  were  despatched 
across  the  country  from  Honomazino  met  us  with  Cocoa  Nuts. 


68 

loth.  After  giving  our  several  attendants  strict  charge  of  their 
respective  burthens  we  left  our  canoes  at  Pateence  and  set  out 
early  on  the  morning  of  the  loth  to  prosecute  the  remainder  of  our 
journey  by  land.  We  had  not  travelled  far  when  we  found  we 
had  to  ascend  an  elevated,  steep,  rugged,  bank  that  took  its  rise 
at  the  south  point  of  the  Island  and  running  along  the  southern 
side  of  Pateence  Bay  continued  its  direction  inland  behind  the 
village:  on  gaining  its  summit,  which  was  not  an  easy  task,  an 
extensive  tract  of  the  most  luxurious  pasture  we  had  yet  seen 
amongst  these  Islands  rushed  at  once  upon  our  sight,  extending 
itself  from  the  South  point  to  a  considerable  distance  inland:  it 
was  croppd  with  fine  soft  grass  reaching  up  to  our  knees  and 
naturally  of  a  thick  bottom  that  would  afford  excellent  feeding 
for  cattle  where  herds  of  them  might  live  at  their  ease,  if  it  was 
not  for  the  scarcity  of  fresh  water  which  we  experienced  in  all 
the  low  grounds  we  had  yet  visited. 

From  the  summit  of  this  bank  we  pursued  a  path  leading  to 
the  upper  Plantations  in  a  direct  line  towards  Mownaroa,  and  as 
we  advanced  the  natives  pointed  out  to  us,  on  both  sides  of  our 
path,  places  where  battles  and  skirmishes  were  fought  in  the  late 
civil  wars  between  the  adherents  of  the  present  King  and  the 
party  of  Kaooa,  the  son  of  the  late  Tereoboo  who  was  King  of  the 
Island  in  Capt.  Cook's  time.  Tamaika-maika's  warriors  were 
headed  by  Tianna  who  at  that  time  made  use  of  fire-arms  which 
obliged  Kaooa's  warriors  to  intrench  themselves  by  digging  small 
holes  in  the  ground  into  which  they  squatted  flat  down  at  the 
flash  of  the  muskets ;  many  of  these  little  intrenchments  are  still 
very  conspicuous  and  they  were  pointed  out  to  us  by  the  natives 
with  seeming  satisfaction,  as  it  was  to  them  a  new  mode  of  eluding 
the  destructive  powers  of  firearms  on  plain  ground.  Here,  then,  we 
behold  the  first  beginnings  of  fortification  amongst  these  people, 
which  they  probably  never  thought  of  till  these  arms  were  intro- 
duced amongst  them  ,and  we  also  see  that  the  same  mode  of  fight- 
ing naturally  begets  the  same  mode  of  defence  in  every  part  of 
the  world.  It  was  in  these  Wars  that  Tianna,  by  his  knowledge 
of  fire-arms  gained  so  much  ascendancy  on  the  Island  and  be- 
came so  powerful  a  Chief.  We  continued  our  ascent  through  a 
rich  tract  of  land  which  appeared  to  have  laid  fallow  or  neg- 
lected ever  since  these  wars,  till  we  came  to  a  grove  of  the  Dooe 
Dooe  tree  and  under  their  shade  we  stopped  to  rest  and  refresh 
ourselves,  in  the  heat  of  the  day.  Close  by  us  was  a  fine  Planta- 
tion, belonging  to  Tamaika  Maika,  called  Tahookoo  where  our 
Purveyor  was  particularly  ordered  to  demand  supplies  for  our 
journey,  which  he  did,  and  only  received  one  small  Hog.  This, 


69 

however,  did  not  come  to  our  knowledge  till  after  we  had  passed 
it,  and  when  the  Chief  told  me  of  it  I  made  a  show  of  noting  it 
down  in  my  little  Memorandum  Book  in  order  to  make  it  known 
to  the  King:  this  had  the  desired  effect  for  it  instantly  spread 
through  the  crowd  and  from  them  to  the  Steward  of  the  Planta- 
tion, whom  we  found  extremely  assiduous  in  supplying  our  wants 
on  our  return. 

In  the  afternoon  we  resumed  our  journey,  and  soon  after 
reached  the  upper  Plantations,  where  instead  of  ascending  direct- 
ly up  the  Mountain  as  we  expected,  they  led  us  across  these 
Plantations,  to  the  North  Eastward  at  a  distance  of  5  or  6  miles 
from  the  shore,  by  a  narrow  winding  path  which  in  some  places 
was  very  rugged,  and  seldom  admitted  more  than  one  person  at 
a  time,  so  that  we  followed  one  another  in  a  string  and  occupied 
a  considerable  space  in  length  from  the  number  of  our  own  party 
and  the  crowds  that  followed  us  from  village  to  village  through 
curiosity  and  flocked  to  see  us  from  far  and  near:  this  path  we 
found  to  be  the  public  road  leading  to  the  East  end  of  the  Island, 
and  on  the  small  eminences  here  and  there  we  met  cleard  spots 
for  resting  on,  where  the  wearied  travelers  generally  set  down  to 
chew  sugar-cane  and  admire  the  surrounding  prospect. 

Towards  evening  we  descended  into  a  fine  fertile  valley,  and 
put  up  for  the  night  at  a  village  called  Keeoraka  on  a  rich  Planta- 
tion belong  to  Cavahero,  and  we  computed  that  we  had  this  day 
travelled  1 8  or  20  miles,  though  we  did  not  seem  to  be  much  more 
than  half  way  that  distance,  in  a  straight  line  from  where  we  set 
out  in  the  morning,  the  path  was  so  circuitous  and  winding,  and 
we  observed  that  a  great  deal  of  ground  on  both  sides  of  our 
path  lay  waste,  which  appeared  to  have  been  cultivated  not  many 
years  ago.  This  we  ascribed  to  the  late  commotions  on  this 
part  of  the  Island,  as  it  is  the  common  custom  of  these  people  to 
destroy  the  Plantations  of  the  vanquished. 

When  we  stoppd  in  the  evening  we  were  surrounded  by  such 
a  concourse  of  people  who  pressd  so  close  upon  us  that  we  could 
scarcely  stir.  Rookea,  observing  our  situation,  took  a  stick  in 
his  hand  and  soon  cleard  a  circle  for  us:  he  afterwards  Tabood 
a  large  house  for  us  and  seemed  to  manage  the  natives  with  great 
authority.  This  was  by  far  the  most  populous  village  we  had  yet 
met  with  since  we  left  Karakakooa.  Towards  the  dusk  of  the 
evening  there  fell  some  showers  of  rain  which  gave  a  gav  and 
refreshing  look  to  the  most  enchanting  scenes  of  rural  industry 
with  which  we  were  surrounded.  The  economy  with  which  these 
people  laid  out  and  managed  their  ground,  and  the  neatness  with 
which  they  cultivated  their  little  fields,  made  the  whole  Valley 


70 

appear  more  like  a  rich  garden  than  a  Plantation :  a  stream  of  water 
which  fell  from  the  Mountain  through  the  middle  of  it  was  in- 
geniously branchd  off,  on  each  side,  to  flood  and  fertilize  the 
most  distant  fields  at  pleasure. 

nth.  We  set  out  early  on  the  morning  of  the  nth  and  as- 
cended a  steep  verdant  hill  on  the  Eastern  side  of  the  Valley,  from 
the  summit  of  which  we  had  a  charming  prospect  of  the  coun- 
try for  a  long  way  before  us,  presenting  extensive  and  rich  planta- 
tions industriously  cultivated :  as  we  passed  on  through  them  the 
natives  pointed  out  one  which  they  said  the  King  had  given  to 
Tooworero  soon  after  we  left  him  on  the  Island :  this  was  further 
confirmed  to  us  by  the  vassals  on  it  readily  owning  Tooworero  as 
their  Chief.  We  found  the  people  everywhere  busily  employed 
in  their  little  fields  many  of  which  were  here  croppd  with  Plan- 
tains and  Bananas  which  had  a  ragged  appearance  from  having 
little  or  no  shelter,  yet  they  bore  fruit  tolerably  well.  We  sel- 
dom observed  these  vegetables  cultivated  so  low  down  on  the 
Western  side  of  the  Island  where  they  generally  occupy  the  verge 
of  the  Forest,  a  situation  which  for  shelter,  seems  more  congenial 
to  their  tender  foliage.  We  observed  here  that  they  suffer  many 
of  their  fields  here  and  there  to  lay  fallow  and  these,  in  general, 
were  croppd  with  fine  grass  which  they  cut  down  for  the  pur- 
pose of  covering  their  new  planted  fields  of  Taro  or  Yams,  to 
preserve  them  from  the  powerful!  heat  of  the  sun. 

After  crossing  these  Plantations  we  came  to  a  barren  woody 
tract,  without  even  a  Hut  or  the  least  arable  land  for  a  consider- 
able distance,  and  so  arid  that  we  could  get  no  water  to  quench 
our  thirst  or  refresh  ourselves :  this  made  us  quite  out  of  humour 
with  our  guides  as  the  day  was  far  advanced  before  we  could  get 
any  breakfast,  and  by  the  time  we  got  through  this  dreary  tract 
we  were  ready  to  drop  with  hunger  and  fatigue. 

At  last  we  came  to  a  romantic  situation  where  there  were  a  few 
huts  on  the  verge  of  the  forests:  here  under  a  small  shade  they 
spread  a  mat  for  us  on  which  we  threw  ourselves  down  to  rest 
till  some  refreshments  were  got  ready  and  till  the  heat  of  the  day 
was  partly  over.  After  taking  our  meal  the  Priests  consecrated 
our  shade  by  planting  Taboo  sticks  round  it,  on  account  of  our 
eating  Pork,  Cocoa  Nuts  and  other  prohibited  provisions  in  it: 
this  deprived  us  entirely  of  the  society  of  the  ladies,  for  though 
they  set  down  on  our  mat  before  breakfast  and  were  very  chatty 
and  cheering,  yet  nothing  would  induce  them  to  approach  it  after 
their  rods  were  stuck  up :  such  is  the  powerfull  influence  of  priest- 
craft amongst  these  people. 

In  the  afternoon  we  continued  our  journey  by  the  same  path 


which  still  led  along  the  upper  Plantations,  preserving  nearly  the 
same  distance  from  the  sea-coast,  and  was  excessively  rugged  and 
woody,  with  here  and  there  some  intervening  plantations  arranged 
alternatively  with  these  rugged  forests  which  seemed  to  mark  the 
latter  courses  of  the  Lava  down  the  side  of  the  Mountain.  We 
stopped  in  the  evening  at  a  Plantation  belonging  to  Tamaika- 
maika,  called  Poonaroo. 

1 2th.  Next  day  we  continued  our  journey  through  the  same 
kind  of  picturesque  country,  and  soon  after  setting  out  from  Poo- 
naroo we  crossed  a  Plantation  belonging  to  Trailooevee  the  Chief 
whose  hand  had  been  so  badly  wounded  at  Karakakooa  before  we 
came  away,  and  the  following  circumstances  will  show  the  good- 
ness of  his  heart  and  how  thankfull  he  was  for  our  attention 
towards  him  on  that  occasion.  He  had,  it  seems,  sent  before  us 
particular  orders  for  his  Steward  to  wait  upon  us  as  we  passed 
and  make  an  offer  of  whatever  his  Plantation  produced.  The 
Steward  executed  his  Master's  mandate  in  the  most  friendly  man- 
ner, and  even  pressed  us  with  tears  of  gratitude  in  his  eyes,  to 
accept  something,  as  otherwise  his  Master  would  think  that  he 
had  not  done  his  duty.  This  induced  us  to  take  a  few  things 
from  him,  after  which  we  assured  him  that  if  we  should  stand  in 
need  of  a  further  supply  we  would  send  back  to  him  for  it,  with 
which  he  appeared  quite  satisfied.  Little  acts  of  hospitality 
and  kindness  are  acceptable  in  all  places  and  on  all  occasions,  but 
nowhere  more  particularly  so  than  to  the  way-worn  travellers  in 
remote  regions  and  amongst  uncivilized  tribes  where  those  little 
civilities  may  be  considered  as  the  spontaneous  offerings  of  the 
heart  and  cannot  fail  to  touch  the  feelings  of  those  on  whom  they 
are  conferred,  with  a  more  than  common  sense  of  gratitude  and 
admiration. 

Though  we  had  much  reason  to  be  satisfied  every  step  we  went 
with  the  kind  attentions  and  unbounded  hospitality  of  the  natives, 
yet  we  could  not  help  being  now  a  little  out  of  temper  with  them 
at  the  great  distance  they  were  taking  us,  as  it  were,  round  the 
foot  of  the  mountain  till,  in  the  afternoon  we  reached  a  fine 
Plantation,  called  Tepapala,  belonging  to  the  King,  from  which, 
they  told  us,  we  were  to  ascend  the  Mountain,  and  as  the  Chief 
had  here  to  provide  his  last  supplies  of  provisions  for  our  journey 
up  we  were  obliged  to  stop  for  the  night,  to  allow  him  time  for 
that  purpose. 

In  the  evening  we  sent  back  one  of  the  natives  to  Karakakooa 
with  a  note  to  Capt.  Vancouver,  to  relieve  any  anxiety  he  might 
be  under  respecting  us  and  to  acquaint  him  with  the  distance  we 


72 

had  come  and  the  probable  time  it  would  still  take  us  to  accom- 
plish our  object. 

We  were  now  within  a  few  miles  of  the  Volcano  of  which  there 
seemed  to  be,  this  day,  a  considerable  eruption,  and  as  the  wind 
blew  from  that  direction,  the  smoke  dust  and  ashes  arising  from 
it  proved  very  troublesome  to  our  eyes  in  travelling  with  our 
faces  towards  it. 

i jth.  Before  we  set  out  on  the  morning  of  the  I3th  I  observed 
the  Barometer  at  eight,  when  the  Mercury  stood  at  28in  2Opts, 
which  made  our  height  at  this  place  1800  feet  above  the  level  of 
the  sea.  The  Thermometer  was,  at  the  same  time,  67°. 

After  breakfast,  everything  being  got  ready,  and  the  party 
arranged,  we  continued  our  march  through  the  Plantation  for  two 
or  three  miles  further  and  then  began  our  ascent  up  the  South 
East  side  of  Mauna-roa,  in  an  easy  slanting  direction,  passing 
through  groves  of  trees  and  clear  spots,  alternately,  by  a  narrow 
rugged  path  without  meeting  any  more  cultivated  ground,  after 
we  quitted  the  Plantation  of  Tepapala,  or  any  houses  till,  towards 
sun-set,  when  we  came  to  two  or  three  old  huts  where  our  guides 
told  us  we  must  encamp  for  the  night.  The  Chief  no  longer 
depended  on  his  own  knowledge  of  the  path  but  brought  men 
with  him  from  the  last  Plantation  to  conduct  the  whole  party  up 
the  Mountain  which  now  lay  between  us  and  Karakakooa:  we 
had  the  Volcano  to  our  right  most  part  of  this  day  and  in  the 
forenoon  the  smoke  and  ashes  arising  from  it  made  the  air  very 
thick,  which  at  times  proved  very  tormenting  to  our  eyes. 

At  sun-set  the  Thermometer  was  at  54°  and  the  Barometer 
stood  at  26in  5opts  which  made  our  height  from  the  sea  3510  feet. 

I4th.  At  sun-rise  next  morning  the  Thermometer  was  so  low 
as  41°,  which  was  lower  by  two  degrees  than  we  found  it  near 
the  upper  edge  of  the  wood  on  Whararai  at  the  same  time  of  the 
day,  and  yet  we  were  not  here  advanced  half  way  up  the  woody 
region  of  the  Mountain.  Whether  this  diffusion  of  cold  much 
lower  down  be  owing  to  there  being  but  little  wood  on  this  side 
of  the  mountain  or  to  its  being  a  much  greater  body  than  Whara- 
rai, I  cannot  take  upon  me  to  say,  as  I  have  not  sufficient  data 
to  determine,  but  the  air  was  at  this  time  so  chilly,  and  the  natives 
complained  so  much  of  the  cold  that  we  did  not  stir  from  the 
place  of  our  encampment  till  after  breakfast  when  we  again  set 
forward  up  the  Mountain  in  a  reversed  oblique  direction  to  whai 
we  came  the  day  before,  but  in  so  winding  and  circuitous  a  man- 
ner, and  through  such  pathless  and  rugged  tracts,  avoiding  the 
clumps  of  forests  here  and  there,  that  had  we  not  had  good  guides 
with  us  we  should  have  met  with  insurmountable  difficulties. 


73 

We  had  sight  now  and  then  of  the  lower  edge  of  the  snow  which 
did  not  appear  to  be  far  above  us :  we  therefore  began  to  enter- 
tain the  most  sanguine  hopes  of  reaching  it  at  least,  should  we 
not  be  able  to  accomplish  the  full  extent  of  our  object  in  getting 
to  the  summit.  In  the  afternoon  we  turned  our  faces  more  di- 
rectly up  the  mountain  when  we  found  the  ascent  very  steep  and 
rugged  and  consequently  more  fatiguing.  Towards  evening 
we  reached  the  upper  verge  of  the  forest,  nearly  over  Tepapala, 
where  we  encamped  for  the  conveniency  of  having  wood  at  hand 
to  burn  and  erect  our  huts  with.  The  natives  having  pitched 
upon  a  clear  spot  overgrown  only  with  strong  tall  grass,  they 
all  set  to  work,  and  in  the  course  of  about  two  hours  erected  a 
small  village  of  huts  sufficient  to  shelter  themselves  and  us  com- 
fortably for  the  night.  These  huts  tho'  finished  with  such  hurry 
were  neatly  constructed  and  well  thatched  all  over  with  long 
grass :  a  large  one  was  built  in  the  middle  of  the  village  for  us  to 
eat  and  set  in,  besides  a  small  one  for  each  of  us  to  sleep  in, 
where  they  spread  our  bedding  on  a  thick  layer  of  long  grass,  so 
that  we  enjoyed  our  repose  comfortably  as  we  could  wish. 

While  this  business  was  going  forward  one  of  the  gentlemen 
laying  down  his  knife  carelessly  had  it  stole  from  him :  this  was 
made  known  to  Rookea,  who  immediately  caused  diligent  search 
to  be  made  for  it  and  made  such  a  stir  about  it  amongst  the  whole 
party  that  it  was  soon  found  again,  and  one  of  the  strangers  who 
followed  us  up  was  suspected  of  having  conceald  it,  for  which  the 
Chief  was  in  such  a  rage  at  him,  for  this  act  of  dishonesty  that 
he  would  certaintly  have  put  an  end  to  his  existence,  on  the  spot ; 
by  plunging  the  knife  into  his  body,  had  we  not  interfered  at  the 
moment  he  had  his  hand  lifted  over  him  to  commit  the  horrid 
deed:  he  then  peremptorily  ordered  him  to  quit  the  encampment 
and  not  to  show  his  face  again  amongst  the  party. 

This  was  the  only  instance  of  an  attempt  to  pilfer  from  us  the 
least  article  during  the  whole  journey,  though  we  were  often 
surrounded  by  immense  crowds,  and  even  at  this  time,  what  with 
men  and  women  who  followed  us  up  the  mountain  through 
curiosity,  and  our  own  attendants,  who  carried  bedding,  water,  and 
provisions  of  every  kind  for  themselves  and  us  we  were  very  little 
short  of  a  hundred  people  in  the  party. 

In  this  day's  march  we  saw  many  strange-looking  plants  dif- 
ferent from  any  we  had  before  observed,  but  very  few  of  them 
being  in  either  flower  or  seed  it  was  not  possible  to  make  out 
what  they  were.  Near  our  encampment  I  found  a  large  beauti- 
ful species  of  Vicia  clambering  up  amongst  the  thickets  in  full 
bloom.. 


74 

Being  now  at  the  upper  edge  of  the  forest  I  observed  the  Baro- 
meter at  six  in  the  evening,  when  it  stood  at  23in  73pts  which  is 
equal  to  6500  ft.  in  altitude,  and  this  may  be  considered  as  the 
height  at  which  the  wood  ceases  to  grow  upon  this  immense 
mountain.  The  Thermometer,  observed  at  the  same  time,  was 
at  41°,  and  as  we  had  heated  ourselves  a  good  deal  in  this  day's 
march  up  the  mountain  we  felt  the  air  after  sunset  remarkably 
chilly  and  cold,  which  induced  us  to  keep  large  fires  burning  near 
our  huts  during  the  whole  night :  notwithstanding  this  precaution 
many  of  the  natives  were  so  restless  with  the  cold  &  continued 
coughing  that  they  enjoyed  very  little  repose,  and  not  indeed 
without  cause,  for  when  we  got  up  next  morning  the  Thermometer 
was  at  28°  and  the  grass  which  grew  about  our  huts  was  so  stiff 
and  whitened  by  hoar  frost,  and  the  earth  that  was  anywise  moist 
or  swampy  was  encrusted  with  icy  concretions  about  our  encamp- 
ment. 

The  frost,  therefore,  must  have  been  keen  during  the  night 
time,  and  from  this  circumstance  I  think  we  may  consider  the 
upper  edge  of  the  wood  as  the  lower  line  of  congelation  upon  this 
mountain,  but  meeting  with  it  so  low  down  as  we  here  did,  and 
that,  too,  on  a  tropical  mountain,  so  closely  surrounded  by  the 
mild  temperature  of  the  sea-air,  will  no  doubt  stagger  the  belief 
of  those  who  have  been  led  to  consider  the  lower  line  of  congela- 
tion within  the  tropics  as  having  a  much  greater  altitude  even  in 
continental  regions  which  are  always  allowed  to  be  colder  than 
Islands  of  moderate  size. 

i$th.  The  natives,  who  were  all  bare-footed,  could  not  stir  out 
of  their  huts  in  the  morning,  until  after  breakfast  when  the  cheer- 
ing influence  of  the  sun  dispersed  the  frost,  but  they  greatly 
dreaded  its  consequences  higher  up  the  mountain,  where  they  said 
the  cold  was  so  intense  that  it  would  certainly  kill  us  and  them  too, 
and  they  described  its  effects  by  contracting  and  shivering  them- 
selves and  cautioned  us  very  strongly  against  going  higher  up 
or  exposing  ourselves  and  them  to  such  danger:  even  the  old 
Chief  Rookea  was  so  strongly  prepossessed  of  this  opinion  that 
he  now  entreated  us  in  the  most  earnest  manner  to  relinquish  the 
idea  of  going  higher,  for  that  he  and  several  others  were  already 
nearly  overcome  with  the  fatigue  of  the  journey,  and  that  the 
cold  on  the  mountain  would  kill  them.  We  endeavored  to  sooth 
their  minds  by  promising  them  that  we  should  not  attempt  to  go 
higher  up  than  the  edge  of  the  snow  which  we  did  not  conceive 
to  be  far  from  us,  and  after  accomplishing  that,  which  we  should 
undoubtedly  be  able  to  do,  in  the  heat  of  the  day,  we  should  re- 
turn again  to  the  encampment  in  the  evening.  They  appeared 


75 

-so  far  satisfied  with  this  declaration  that  we  set  out  after  break- 
fast, followed  by  the  whole  party,  in  a  direct  line  up  the  moun- 
tain, but  we  soon  found  that  many  of  them  came  on  so  slow 
and  reluctantly  that  about  ten  in  the  forenoon  we  proposed  to  the 
Chief  that  he  and  most  of  the  party  should  return  back  and  en- 
camp on  the  edge  of  the  forest  whilst  we  should  go  on  with  the 
guides  and  a  few  stout  volunteers  of  the  natives  to  carry  some  lit- 
tle refreshment  and  some  of  our  bedding  to  wrap  round  us  and 
them  in  case  the  cold  should  be  found  too  powerfull  to  with- 
stand. The  Chief,  finding  his  former  entreaties  of  no  avail,  read- 
ily agreed  to  this  proposal,  and  parted  with  us  with  tears  in  his 
eyes,  after  he  and  our  guides  had  fixed  upon  the  place  where 
they  were  to  wait  for  our  return. 

Having  made  this  arrangement  we  continued  our  progress  up 
the  rugged  steep  which  now  became  naked,  dreary,  and  barren, 
with  only  here  and  there  little  tufts  of  grass  in  the  crevises  of  the 
rocks :  by  noon  finding  that  vegetation  had  entirely  ceased,  not  a 
blade  of  grass,  moss,  or  even  lichen  was  to  be  seen  anywhere 
around  us  for  some  time,  I  observed  the  Barometer  to  ascertain 
our  height,  when  I  found  it  was  2oin  55pts  which  is  equal  to 
10543  feet  above  the  level  of  the  sea,  so  that  this  may  be  con- 
sidered as  the  upper  line  of  vegetation,  or  rather  a  little  above  it, 
on  this  mountain,  but  whether  this  was  occasioned  by  the  want  of 
soil  of  which  there  was  nothing  but  volcanic  dreggs,  or  the  par- 
ticular rarefaction  and  temperature  of  the  air  at  this  height  being 
inimical  to  vegetation,  I  cannot  take  upon  me  to  say,  though  the 
latter,  I  think,  is  most  probable. 

While  we  were  resting  and  refreshing  ourselves  after  making 
these  observations,  one  of  the  natives,  who  struggled  higher  up 
the  mountain,  came  running  back  to  us  with  snow  in  his  hand, 
and  though  we  were  much  fatigued,  for  the  ascent  was  very  steep, 
yet  this  gave  us  fresh  encouragement  and  we  continued  to  ascend 
till  we  passed  several  patches  of  snow,  when  in  the  evening,  find- 
ing that  we  were  not  likely  to  gain  the  summit  of  the  mountain 
with  daylight,  for  every  height  seemed  lengthening  as  we  went 
on,  we  did  not  conceive  it  prudent  to  go  far  into  the  snow  and 
therefore  stopd  short  to  consult  with  one  another  on  what  was 
to  be  done,  whether  we  should  go  back  to  the  encampment  for 
the  night  and  come  up  next  day  better  provided,  or  whether  we 
should  venture  to  remain  where  we  were  all  night,  at  the  mercy 
of  the  weather  on  the  bleak  slope  of  this  immense  mountain,  and 
on  the  small  pittance  of  provisions  we  had  with  us?  Everyone 
was  so  fatigued  with  this  day's  journey,  for  we  made  uncommon 
exertions  in  the  expectation  of  gaining  our  object,  that  the  dread 


76 

of  descending  and  ascending  again  such  a  rugged  steep  made 
us,  at  all  hazards,  prefer  the  latter. 

At  this  time  one  of  the  gentlemen,  Mr.  Haddington,  who  went 
higher  up  amongst  the  snow,  accompanied  by  one  of  the  natives, 
in  expectation  of  reaching  the  summit,  returned  to  us  so  over- 
powerd  with  fatigue  that  he  was  taken  very  ill :  in  this  state  we 
dreaded  the  consequence  of  his  remaining  with  us  all  night,  and 
after  giving  him  some  little  refreshment,  we  sent  him  off  before 
he  coold  or  stiffend  with  the  cold,  to  the  encampment,  attended 
by  two  of  the  natives,  and  we  were  happy  afterwards  to  find  that 
he  reached  it  in  due  time,  and  fortunately  recovered. 

As  we  had  now  taken  up  our  abode  at  the  lower  edge  of  the 
snow  I  observed  the  Barometer  at  six  in  the  evening,  when  it 
stood  at  I9in  Sopts  which  in  altitude  is  equal  to  11515  feet,  and 
the  Thermometer  at  the  same  time  was  at  33°. 

We  were  not,  as  might  naturally  be  expected,  at  this  time, 
without  our  apprehensions  that  our  constitutions  which  were  for 
some  time  inurd  to  the  searching  heats  of  a  tropical  climate  below, 
would  be  greatly  affected  by  this  sudden  transition  to  the  upper 
snowy  region  of  the  Mountain,  for  since  we  began  our  ascent  we 
may  be  said  to  have  gone  through  all  the  variety  of  climates  be- 
tween the  Equator  and  the  Pole.  We  quitted  the  tropical  planta- 
tions below  and  came  through  the  vast  forest  which  surrounds  the 
middle  region  of  the  Mountain  and  which  may  justly  be  considered 
as  its  temperate  zone,  and  now  we  are  stationed  for  the  night 
within  the  verge  of  the  frigid  zone  of  this  immense  peak,  which 
in  this  way  may  be  aptly  compared  to  one  of  our  Hemispheres, 
and  yet,  after  all,  we  were  so  inconsiderate  of  our  own  safety  as 
not  to  make  any  particular  provision  of  warm  clothing  to  prevent 
the  banefull  effects  of  this  sudden  change :  it  happened,  however, 
very  fortunate  that  the  weather  proved  mild  and  favourable  all 
the  while,  so  that  we  did  not  suffer  so  much  inconvenience  by  this 
quick  transition  from  the  tropical  regions  to  this  frigid  zone  as 
might  be  apprehended. 

After  the  excessive  perspiration  we  underwent  in  this  fatiguing 
day's  journey,  clambering  up  a  steep  rugged  ascent  wholly  ex- 
posed to  the  influence  of  the  sun  in  the  heat  of  the  day,  it  was 
necessary  to  take  every  precaution  in  our  power  to  prevent  numb- 
ness and  stiffness  of  our  limbs  by  exercise  and  continually  moving 
about  to  keep  ourselves  warm,  for  we  had  nothing  here  where- 
with we  could  keep  up  a  fire,  and  all  the  provisions  we  had  re- 
maining was  a  small  quantity  of  chocolate,  a  few  ship's  biscuits 
and  near  a  quart  of  rum,  together  with  a  few  Cocoa  Nuts:  of 
these  articles  we  carefully  preserved  the  best  half  for  next  day, 


77 

and  divided  the  other  half  as  equal  as  we  could  amongst  the  party 
which  was  now  about  a  dozen  in  number.  We  managed  to  boil 
the  chocolate  in  a  tin  pot  over  a  small  fire  made  of  our  walking 
sticks,  and  each  had  his  share  of  it  warm,  with  a  small  quantity 
of  rum  in  it,  before  he  went  to  bed.  We  had  no  other  water  than 
what  we  melted  from  the  snow,  which  we  thought  greatly  im- 
provd  the  chocolate. 

For  our  bed  we  made  choice  of  a  flat  even  rock  on  which  we 
could  all  huddle  close  together,  and  after  marking  out  the  exact 
space  we  should  occupy,  of  it,  we  raised  a  small  parapet  round  it, 
with  the  Lava,  to  break  off  the  wind  which  after  sunset  blew  very 
keen  and  penetrating:  all  the  bed  clothes  we  hitherto  required 
were  a  few  folds  of  the  Sandwich  Island  Cloth  over  us,  with  a 
mat  under  us  which  was  found  sufficiently  comfortable  in  the 
lower  regions,  but  this  night,  after  spreading  a  mat  on  the  bare 
rock,  as  it  was  agreed  we  should  all  sleep  together  to  keep  our- 
selves warm,  we  joined  together  everything  we  had  for  a  general 
covering,  made  pillows  of  the  hard  lava,  and  in  this  was  passed  the 
night,  tolerably  comfortable,  though  we  could  not  sleep  much, 
nor  was  it  indeed  to  be  expected.  At  this  time,  so  many  thousand 
feet  high,  reclined  on  the  hard  rock  for  our  bed,  with  no  other 
shelter  than  the  grand  canopy  of  heaven  our  minds  were  vari- 
ously occupied,  sometimes  in  meditating  on  the  dreadful  conse- 
quences of  a  snowstorm  coming  on  whilst  we  were  thus  situated : 
at  other  times  in  contemplating  the  awfull  &  extended  scene 
around  us  where  the  most  profound  stillness  subsisted  the  whole 
night,  not  even  interrupted  by  the  least  chirp  of  a  bird  or  an  in- 
sect. The  moon  rose  out  of  the  sea  at  an  immense  distance  and 
her  orb  appeared  uncommonly  large  and  brilliant,  and  the  sky 
being  perfectly  clear  overhead,  the  assemblage  of  stars  appeard 
very  numerous  and  shone  with  unusual  brightness.  These  led 
the  imagination  to  the  utmost  stretch  and  afforded  objects  of  both 
wonder  and  admiration. 

i6th.  Next  morning,  at  sun-rise,  the  Thermometer  was  at  26° 
and  the  air  was  excessively  keen  and  piercing :  we  made  a  scanty 
meal  on  the  remainder  of  our  provision,  before  we  set  out,  but  for 
want  of  fuel,  had  the  greatest  difficulty  in  getting  our  chocolate 
boiled,  though  we  burnt  mats  and  everything  we  could  think  of. 
Those  of  the  natives  who  appeared  less  able  to  withstand  the  cold 
or  further  fatigue  were  sent  down  to  the  Encampment,  and  at 
the  same  time  we  set  forward  with  the  rest  of  them,  up  the  Moun- 
tain, carrying  with  us  the  remainder  of  the  liquor  and  a  few  Cocoa 
Nuts  as  our  only  resource  of  refreshment  in  case  of  emergencies. 
As  we  went  on  we  soon  found  the  ascent  become  less  steep  and 


everywhere  chequered  over  with  large  patches  of  snow  which 
was  so  .hard  that  we  walked  over  it  with  ease,  and  we  marched 
a  pretty  quick  pace  to  keep  ourselves  warm.  We  found  the  sum- 
mit of  the  mountain  nearly  flat  for  several  miles,  strewd  over 
with  huge  lumps  of  loose  lava,  and  here  and  there  deep  snow. 
About  1 1  in  the  forenoon  we  arrived  at  the  mouth  of  an  immense 
crater  at  least  three  miles  in  circumference,  and  looking  round 
us  we  conceived  the  western  edge  of  it  to  be  the  highest  part  of 
the  mountain.  I  was  therefore  desirous  to  make  that  the  place  of 
observation  with  the  Barometer,  but  being  on  the  south  side  of 
the  crater,  to  get  to  this  eminence  we  had  to  cross  over  a  large 
hollow  full  of  hideous  chinks  and  chasms  in  all  directions,  and 
strewd  over  with  large  masses  of  broken  and  peeked  lava  in  ir- 
regular piles,  exhibiting  the  most  rugged  and  disruptive  appear- 
ance that  can  possibly  be  conceived.  Mr.  Howell's  shoes  being 
already  cut  and  torn  in  pieces  with  the  lava,  and  his  strength 
being  much  exhausted  with  fatigue,  he  declined  attempting  this 
dreadful  place:  we  therefore  left  him  and  the  natives  on  the 
South  side  of  it,  to  wait  our  return,  while  Mr.  Baker,  Mr.  Mc- 
Kenzie,  and  myself,  and  the  servant  who  carried  the  Barometer, 
crossed  over  this  rugged  hollow  after  a  hard  and  persevering 
struggle,  and  by  noon  got  to  the  highest  part  of  the  mountain,  on 
the  western  brink  of  the  great  crater,  where  I  observed  the  Baro- 
meter and  found  the  Quicksilver  stood  at  i8in  40  pts,  and  that 
on  board  'The  Discovery'  at  Karakakooa  Bay,  observed  at  the 
same  instant  of  time,  was  found  to  be  in  3oin  i6pts  so  that  the 
difference  is  nin  76pts,  which  will  make  the  height  of  this  im- 
mense mountain  13,634  feet  above  the  level  of  the  sea;  but  it  is 
necessary  to  observe  that  the  correction  for  the  temperature  of 
the  atmosphere  has  not  been  allowed  for  in  this  calculation  nor 
at  any  other  station  upon  the  mountain,  which  will  make  some 
difference  in  the  result  of  the  observations.  The  Thermometer 
here  was  at  62°. 16  Mowna-Kaah  bore  by  compass  North  by 
East  of  us;  Highland  of  Wowee  North  West  by  North;  and 
Whararai,  which  appeared  under  us  like  a  hilloc,  bore  North  West 
by  West.  I  regretted  much  not  having  a  spirit-level  or  some 
other  instrument  to  ascertain  whether  this  mountain  or  Mowna- 
Kaah  is  the  highest,  though  from  the  Peak  of  the  latter  being  at 


16  As  nearly  as  can  be  estimated  the  difference  in  temperature  between 
the  top  of  the  mountain  and  the  ship  was  thirty  degrees.  This  would 
make  it  necessary  to  reduce  the  figure  given  by  Menzies  by  seventy  feet; 
making  the  true  altitude  13,564  feet.  Wilkes'  determination  was  13,750; 
J.  M.  Alexander's  in  1885,  13,675. 


79 

this  time  more  whitened  over  with  snow,  I  am  inclined  to  think 
it  would  have  the  pre-eminence  in  this  respect,  to  Mowna-roa. 
The  sides  of  the  Crater  (which  was,  as  near  as  we  could  guess, 
about  a  mile  in  diameter),  were  quite  perpendicular  and,  as  we 
conjectured,  about  400  yards  in  height,  all  around,  excepting  op- 
posite to  the  hollow  already  mentioned,  where  the  height  was 
much  less:  the  bottom  of  it  was  quite  flat,  being  filled  up  with 
lava  with  a  wavy  roughness  on  its  surface,  apparently  in  the 
state  in  which  it  coold  in  this  immense  furnace.  At  the  edge  of 
it  we  observed  some  smoke  in  two  or  three  places  which  we  con- 
ceived to  issue  from  hot  springs,  as  on  our  way  back  to  the  party 
we  visited  the  entrance  to  a  cavern  out  of  which  there  issued  a 
very  hot  stream.  In  undergoing  our  struggle  again  across  the 
rugged  hollow  we  all  felt  less  or  more  exhausted  with  fatigue, 
but  Mr.  Baker  in  particular  became  so  weak  and  faint,  that  we 
were  obliged  to  stop  for  him  two  or  three  times  till  he  recovered 
his  strength,  and  when  we  came  back  to  the  place  where  we  left 
Mr.  Howell  and  the  natives,  we  found  only  two  of  the  latter  in 
waiting  for  us,  faithful  (poor  fellows)  to  their  trust,  though 
shivering  with  the  cold  at  the  risque  of  their  lives,  and  patiently 
enduring  the  pangs  of  both  hunger  and  thirst;  but  when  they 
informed  us  that  Mr.  Howell  and  the  rest  of  the  natives  had  gone 
off  for  the  encampment,  and  had  carried  away  with  them  the 
small  quantity  of  liquor  which  we  had  carefully  preservd  for 
emergencies,  it  sounded  like  the  knell  of  death  in  our  eyes,  and 
we  could  not  help  blaming  Mr.  Howell  for  thus  deserting  us ;  but 
the  absence  of  our  cordial,  on  which  we  had  built  our  only  hope 
of  cheering  comfort  to  enable  us  to  go  through  the  long  journey 
still  before  us  afflicted  us  most:  thus  overwhelmed,  spiritless  & 
faint,  we  threw  ourselves  down  upon  the  bare  rocks  and  for  some 
moments  revolved  our  melancholy  situation  in  silence.  The 
distance  we  were  from  the  party,  which  was  considerably  more 
than  half  the  height  of  the  mountain ;  the  ruggedness  and  steep- 
ness of  the  declivity ;  and  our  weakness  and  inability  to  undergo 
fatigue  without  some  miraculous  support,  all  obtruded  themselves 
on  our  minds  in  the  most  gastly  shapes.  On  further  enquiry  we 
found  that  our  trusty  friends  had  still  a  reserve  of  three  Cocoa 
Nuts :  the  liquor  of  these  we  gradually  sipt  and  it  greatly  revivd 
us,  and  after  eating  some  of  the  kernels  which  were  carefully 
divided  amongst  us,  we  set  out  on  our  return  to  the  encampment 
where  we  were  so  fortunate  as  to  arrive  safe  at  ten  at  night,  after 
the  most  persevering  and  hazardous  struggle  that  can  possibly  be 
conceived. 


8o 

OTHER  STATEMENTS. 

The  natives  of  Captain  Wilkes'  party  in  1841  stated  that  there 
had  been  an  eruption  from  the  north  Pohaku  o  Hanalei  sixty 
years  earlier,  or  about  1780.  This  accords  with  the  specific  state- 
ment of  Keaweehu  the  bird  catcher  and  guide  who  said  there  had 
been  an  eruption  upon  the  mountain  shortly  after  the  death  of 
Captain  Cook. 

John  Turnbull  in  his  narrative  of  a  voyage  around  the  world 
from  1800  to  1804,  says  that  as  he  was  leaving  Karakakooa,  Janu- 
ary 21,  1803,  he  had  a  full  view  of  some  eruptions  from  the  vol- 
canic center  of  the  island  of  Owhyhee.  This  must  have  been 
upon  the  west  or  north  side  of  Mokuaweoweo.  He  adds  that 
"many  parts  of  the  surface  of  the  island  are  covered  with  lava, 
calcined  stones,  black  dust  and  ashes  emitted  by  former  erup- 
tions." 

An  indefinite  statement  was  made  by  G.  Poulett  Scrope  in  his 
classic  work  upon  volcanoes  published  in  1825.  Upon  his  map 
he  colors  the  Hawaiian  Archipelago  as  volcanic :  he  says  nothing 
of  the  observations  of  Ellis  which  were  the  only  testimony  from 
observations  made  on  the  island  before  that  date;  but  remarks 
that  navigators  in  the  Pacific  Ocean  had  seen  lava  flowing  down 
the  sides  of  Mauna  Loa.  Whether  he  made  reference  to  the  two 
instances  quoted  cannot  be  proved.  It  is  very  probable  that  Mo- 
kuaweoweo showed  less  activity  after  1780  and  before  1832  than 
in  the  decades  since. 

MOKUAWEOWEO  BETWEEN  1832  AND  1843. 

Rev.  Joseph  Goodrich  is  authority  for  the  statement  that  lava 
flowed  from  several  vents  about  the  summit  on  June  20,  i832.17 
Light  was  observed  from  Lahaina  on  Maui,  a  hundred  miles  to 
the  northwest. 

Lava  was  seen  coming  out  of  the  sides  of  the  mountain  in  dif- 
ferent places.  Discharges  of  red  hot  lava  were  seen  on  every 
side  of  the  mountain.  This  would  seem  to  indicate  that  these 
flows  were  like  all  the  later  ones,  not  from  the  summit,  but  from 
some  weak  spot  lower  down.  The  reflection  of  fire  upon  the 
clouds  at  the  first  was  probably  regarded  as  evidence  of  a  flow 
from  the  summit.  Earthquakes  were  noted  on  Hawaii  during 
the  summer  and  quite  an  important  display  of  activity  was  mani- 
fested at  Kilauea,  probably  a  few  months  earlier  (Jan.  12). 


17  A.  J.  Science,  Vol  XXV. 


8i 

The  impression  prevails  that  these  eruptions  from  Mokuaweo- 
weo  and  Kilauea  were  simultaneous ;  and  to  reach  this  conclusion 
we  must  believe  that  the  writing  Jan.  was  a  printer's  error  for 
June,  in  the  account  of  Kilauea. 

The  records  are  meagre  with  respect  to  the  location  of  this 
flow.  The  Government  map  shows  a  small  area  upon  the  south 
side  of  the  caldera,  and  close  to  it,  with  the  label  of  1832.  I 
have  questioned  everybody  as  to  the  authority  for  this  representa- 
tion, and  no  one  connected  with  the  Survey  can  give  the  informa- 
tion. Our  doubt  respecting  this  reference  comes  from  the  un- 
usual position  immediately  adjacent  to  Mokuaweoweo.  None 
of  the  eruptions  on  record  later  are  so  situated;  they  are  lower 
down.  Mr.  Green  refers  its  altitude  to  13,000  feet  in  a  table, 
but  makes  no  remark  concerning  it  in  his  text.  The  light  was 
seen  at  Lahaina  by  Mr.  Goodrich.  That  might  have  been  the 
illumination  always  seen  at  the  beginning  of  every  flow.  If  the 
discharge  was  upon  the  south  side  it  would  not  be  very  con- 
spicuous from  Maui.  Mr.  E.  D.  Baldwin  suggests  that  there  is  a. 
flow  of  recent  lava,  judging  from  its  appearance,  just  inside  o£ 
the  great  prehistoric  Keamuku  flow,  arising  near  the  beginning 
of  the  1852  stream,  which  would  have  been  visible  from  La- 
haina, and  might  possibly  have  been  erupted  at  this  time.  Kea- 
moku  is  also  well  situated  to  answer  the  conditions  even  better, 
should  the  flow  have  been  sufficiently  recent. 

In  1834  the  summit  was  visited  by  Dr.  David  Douglas,  an  ex- 
ploring naturalist.  Some  of  his  statements  have  been  discredited 
because  of  apparent  exaggeration  of  the  terrific  activity  of  Mo- 
kuaweoweo. He  used  instruments  for  the  determination  of  alti- 
tudes and  areas.  He  represented  that  there  were  great  chasms 
in  the  pit  that  he  could  not  fathom,  even  with  a  good  glass  when 
the  air  was  clear.  Upon  the  east  side  he  used  a  line  and  plummet, 
and  obtained  the  figure  of  1,270  feet  for  the  height  of  the  preci- 
pice. The  southern  part  of  the  crater  presented  an  old  looking 
lava.  He  heard  hissing  sounds  apparently  connected  with  in- 
ternal fire.  The  greatest  portion  of  this  huge  dome  was  said 
to  be  a  gigantic  mass  of  slag,  scoriae  and  ashes. 

Dr.  Douglas  lost  his  life  shortly  after  his  return  from  Mokua- 
weoweo. As  his  remains  were  found  in  a  pit  where  wild  cattle 
were  entrapped  it  was  supposed  at  first  that  he  had  accidentally 
fallen  into  it  and  was  gored  to  death;  but  recently  it  has  been 
ascertained  that  he  had  been  thrown  into  this  pit  Jan.  27,  1834, 
by  a  bullock  hunter  named  Ned  Gurney,  an  Australian  convict. 
This  statement  comes  from  Bolabola,  an  Hawaiian  who  was  ten 
years  old  at  the  time  of  the  homicide.  He  and  his  parents  were 


82 

intimidated  by  Gurney,  so  that  fifty  or  sixty  years  passed  before 
he  was  willing  to  testify  to  the  nature  of  the  transaction. 

S.  E.  Bishop  says  of  this  locality:  In  March,  1836,  I  looked 
into  the  pit  where  David  Douglas  perished.  It  was  close  to  the 
inland  trail  from  Waimea  to  Laupahoehoe,  on  the  N.  N.  E.  side  of 
Mauna  Kea,  ten  or  fifteen  miles  northwest  of  Laupahoehoe  and 
in  the  woods. 

THE  WTLKES  PARTY  UPON  MAUNA  LOA. 

The  most  elaborate  attempt  to  take  observations  upon  Mauna 
Loa  was  that  of  the  United  States  exploring  expedition  in  1840-41. 
Captain  Wilkes,  the  officer  in  command  of  the  expedition,  wished 
to  apply  the  best  apparatus  of  his  time  for  the  determination  of 
geodetic  positions  and  altitudes  besides  observing  the  volcanic 
phenomena  and  mapping  the  country.  His  ship  anchored  at 
Hilo.  The  party  started  December  14,  1840,  and  the  last  of 
them  returned  to  Hilo,  Jan.  23,  1841,  making  an  absence  of  forty- 
two  days.  Twenty-eight  days  were  spent  upon  Mauna  Loa ;  six 
days  were  required  to  make  the  ascent  and  two  for  the  descent  to 
Kilauea.  At  the  beginning  the  company  was  to  be  compared  to  a 
caravan.  It  consisted  of  two  hundred  bearers  of  burdens,  forty 
hogs,  a  bullock  and  bullock  hunter,  fifty  bearers  of  poi,  twenty- 
five  with  calabashes  of  different  shapes  and  sizes,  from  six  inches 
to  two  feet  in  diameter.  Some  of  the  bearers  carried  the  scientific 
apparatus,  others  parts  of  the  house  to  be  erected  on  the  summit, 
tents,  knapsacks  and  culinary  utensils.  There  were  lame  horses 
and  as  many  hangers  on  as  there  were  laborers.  The  natives 
moved  under  the  direction  of  Dr.  G.  P.  Judd,  without  whose  help 
the  expedition  would  have  been  a  failure.  After  the  start  thirty 
more  natives  were  added  to  the  company  so  as  to  equalize  the  bur- 
dens. After  passing  Kilauea  the  number  of  the  party  was 
somewhat  reduced,  but  there  were  still  three  hundred  persons  in 
all  to  be  provided  with  food  and  water.  Sickness  and  accidents 
led  to  the  establishment  of  the  Recruiting  Station  or  hospital  at 
the  altitude  of  9,745  feet.  All  the  party  experienced  more  or 
less  of  mountain  sickness.  The  final  encampment  was  on  the 
edge  of  the  pit  of  Mokuaweoweo,  and  the  party  suffered  much 
from  the  inclement  weather.  There  were  a  dozen  separate  tents 
and  houses,  all  surrounded  by  a  high  stone  wall.  These  are 
shown  in  Plate  i6A.  Fifty  men  were  detailed  from  the  vessel 
to  complete  the  undertaking.  The  serviceable  natives  returned 
down  the  mountain  after  the  necessary  articles  had  been  brought 


PLATE  16. 


A.     Camp  Wilkes,  Summit  of  Mauna  Loa. 


B.     Lava  Fountains,  Flow  of   1859. 


PLATE  17. 


tltHHun  PEAK 


A.     Plan  of  Mokuaweoweo,    1841. 


Crater 

of 

MOM/AWEOWEO 

10  im 


B.     Plan  of  Mokuaweoweo,    1873. 


C.     Plan  of  Mokuaweoweo,    1885. 


83 

up,  and  came  back  after  the  termination  of  the  observations  in 
order  to  transport  this  valuable  apparatus  back  to  the  ship. 

The  following  facts  were  stated  about  the  mountain:  Its 
whole  area  was  of  lava,  chiefly  of  very  ancient  date,  rough  and 
seemingly  indestructible,  made  up  of  streams  that  had  flowed 
from  the  central  vents  for  many  ages.  Both  pahoehoe  and 
clinkers  (aa)  abounded.  Wilkes  concluded  that  the  clinkers 
were  formed  in  the  great  pit  where  they  were  broken  and  after- 
wards ejected  with  the  more  fluid  material.  Their  progress 
would  have  continued  till  the  increased  bulk  and  attendant  fric- 
tion arrested  the  stream.  Pahoehoe  seemed  to  have  flowed  from 
the  clinker  masses  that  had  been  stranded.  The  crater  was 
likened  to  an  immense  caldron,  boiling  over  the  rim,  and  dis- 
charging the  molten  mass  and  scoria  which  had  floated  on  its  top. 

From  the  plan  of  Mokuaweoweo  as  given  by  Wilkes,  Plate 
I7A,  the  following  points  may  be  made.  The  central  part  is  the 
deepest,  seven  hundred  and  eighty-four  feet  by  the  west  bank 
and  four  hundred  and  seventy  feet  by  the  east.  This  part  is 
9,000  feet  in  diameter  nearly  circular.  The  bottom  is  flat,  with 
ridges  from  ten  to  fifty  feet  high,  alternating  with  deep  chasms 
and  pahoehoe.  Skirting  this  pit  on  both  the  north  and  south 
sides  are  lunate  platforms  apparently  two-thirds  as  high  as  the 
summit  rim,  both  together  having  an  area  perhaps  half  that  of 
the  main  depression,  and  their  outer  rims  coincide  with  the  out- 
line of  the  whole  caldera.  Just  outside  of  both  are  smaller  pits, 
the  northern  one  two  hundred  feet  and  the  southern  nearly  three 
hundred  feet  in  diameter.  The  last  has  the  name  of  Pohaku  o 
Hanalei  from  Wilkes,  showing  seventy  layers  of  basalt  in  the 
walls,  and  a  cooled  stream  of  lava  that  came  from  the  larger 
crater.  A  smaller  pit-crater  is  mapped  to  the  south.  There  are 
many  deep  fissures  about  these  pits  and  the  lava  has  a  very  fresh 
appearance,  being  suggestive  of  obsidian.  From  the  Pohaku  o 
Hanalei  a  great  steam  crack  points  southerly.  The  highest  point 
in  the  rim  is  opposite  the  encampment,  with  the  altitude  of  13,780 
feet,  three  hundred  and  forty  feet  higher  than  at  the  station, 
which  had  the  name  of  Pendulum  Peak.  Mauna  Kea  proved  to 
be  one  hundred  and  ninety-three  feet  higher  than  Mauna  Loa. 
Water  boiled  at  187°  Fah.  at  Pendulum  Peak.  For  some  reason 
the  main  axis  of  Mokuaweoweo  was  placed  at  N.  and  S.  instead 
of  N.  26°  E.  It  differed  from  Kilauea  in  the  absence  of  a  black 
ledge  and  a  boiling  lake  and  the  evidences  of  heat  were  scant. 
There  was  one  cinder  cone  at  least  upon  the  floor.  Sodium  and 
calcium  sulphates,  magnesium  and  calcium  carbonates,  am- 
monium sulphates  and  sulphurous  gases  were  met  with  in  the  pit. 


84 

The  clinkers  were  compared  to  the  scoriae  from  a  foundry,  in 
size  from  one  to  ten  feet  square,  armed  on  all  sides  with  sharp 
points.  The  fragments  are  loose  with  a  considerable  quantity  of 
the  vitreous  lava  mixed  with  them. 

As  to  origin,  both  the  smooth  and  rough  varieties  are  conceived 
to  have  been  ejected  in  a  fluid  state  from  the  terminal  (summit) 
crater.  The  "clinkers"  are  seldom  found  in  heaps,  but  lie  ex- 
tended in  beds  for  miles  in  length,  sometimes  a  mile  wide,  and 
occasionally  raised  from  ten  to  twenty  feet  above  the  general 
slope  of  the  mountain.  The  "clinkers"  were  formed  in  the 
crater  itself,  broken  up  by  contending  forces,  ejected  with  the  more 
fluid  lava,  which  carried  it  down  the  mountain  slope  until  ar- 
rested by  the  accumulating  weight  or  by  the  excessive  friction. 
They  were  streams  of  lava:  and  this  opinion  was  fortified  by  the 
observation  that  pahoehoe  came  out  from  underneath  the  masses 
of  clinkers  wherever  they  had  stopped.  The  crater  was  an  im- 
mense caldron  boiling  over  the  rim.  No  facts  are  presented  in 
favor  of  this  view,  and  the  idea  was  evidently  borrowed  from  the 
conception  of  what  a  volcano  should  be.  There  had  been  no 
signal  eruption  previous  to  1840  when  the  characteristic  stream 
flows  of  this  mountain  had  been  developed. 

ERUPTION  OF  1843. 

According  to  Dr.  Andrews,  smoke  was  first  seen  from  Hilo 
above  the  summit,  January  gth.  The  next  night  a  brilliant  light 
appeared  above  the  summit  like  a  beacon  fire.  By  day  great 
volumes  of  smoke  were  poured  forth,  and  for  a  week  there  was 
a  fire  by  night.  The  summit  fire  was  then  transferred  to  a  point 
near  the  ridge  leading  towards  Hilo  about  11,000  feet  high.  The 
lava  flowed  from  two  craters  toward  Mauna  Kea,  according  to 
Mr.  Coan,  who  ascended  to  the  source  of  the  flow.  It  was  sup- 
posed at  first  that  the  eruption  was  an  overflow  from'  the  sum- 
mit: this  was  before  the  behavior  of  the  flows  from  very  high 
up  the  mountain  was  understood.  The  lava  spread  out  broadly 
from  about  the  altitude  of  11,000  feet  to  the  base  of  the  dome, 
and  then  rolled  in  a  northwesterly  direction  towards  Kawaihae 
more  than  sixteen  miles.  The  lowest  point  of  the  stream  in  the 
saddle  between  Mauna  Loa  and  Mauna  Kea  was  near  Kalaieha 
or  the  Humuula  sheep  station.  Though  so  stated  by  Mr.  Coan, 
the  map  does  not  indicate  that  a  branch  of  the  stream  was  di- 
rected toward  Hilo.  The  greatest  width  of  the  stream  was  four 
and  a  half  miles.  The  beginning  of  the  outflow  was  less  than  a 
mile  and  a  half  from  Pohaku  Hanalei.  It  trespassed  slightly 


85 

upon  the  Keamoku  flow,  which  started  from  Kokoolau  at  an 
unknown  period  and  moved  twenty  miles  to  the  Trig,  station  Kea- 
moku, from  7,800  to  3,300  feet  altitude.  After  the  refrigeration 
of  the  surface  of  the  lava,  the  melted  material  continued  to  flow 
under  cover  for  more  than  six  weeks.  The  angle  of  descent  for 
the  whole  distance  is  six  degrees,  but  occasionally  there  were 
steep  pitches  of  twenty-five  degrees.  Large  stones  thrown  upon 
the  surface  did  not  sink  but  were  rapidly  transported  downwards 
and  lost  to  sight.  Mounds,  ridges  and  cones  were  thrown  up, 
from  which  steam,  gases  and  hot  stones  were  thrown.  On  March 
6th  snow  was  found  upon  the  summit.  During  this  eruption  there 
was  no  sign  of  sympathy  with  it  at  Kilauea. 

From  a  native  newspaper,  Ka  Hae  Hawaii  (The  Hawaiian 
Banner),  Rev.  W.  D.  Westervelt  has  made  the  following  transla- 
tion of  an  account  of  the  eruption  of  1843,  m  tne  Paradise  of  the 
Pacific,  November,  1908. 

The  eruption  of  January  10,  1843,  was  described  by  Mr.  Coan. 
In  the  morning  while  it  was  still  entirely  dark  a  small  flame  of 
Pele  fire  was  seen  on  the  summit  of  Mauna  Loa,  on  the  north- 
eastern shoulder  of  the  mountain.  Soon  afterward  the  fire 
opened  another  door  and  the  lava  rushed  down  the  side  directly 
opposite  Mauna  Kea.  Two  'branches  were  pouring  forth  lava, 
filling  the  place  between  the  two  mountains,  covering  it  with  fire 
like  the  spreading  out  of  an  ocean.  One  branch  went  toward  the 
foothills  of  Hualalai  and  the  other  toward  Mauna  Kea  until  the 
flow  came  to  the  foot  of  the  mountain,  when  it  divided,  one  part 
going  toward  Waimea  and  one  toward  Hilo.  Four  weeks  this 
eruption  continued  without  cessation.  The  fires  could  not  come 
to  the  sea  coast,  but  filled  up  the  low  places  of  the  mountain  and 
spread  out  all  over  the  different  plains.  Then  it  was  imprisoned. 

Brilliant  fires  were  noted  at  the  summit  in  May,  1849,  after 
the  unusual  activity  in  Kilauea.  These  lasted  for  two  or  three 
weeks,  but  there  was  no  evidence  of  accompanying  earthquakes  or 
discharge  of  lava. 

MOKUAWEOWEO  IN  1851. 

There  was  a  small  flow  on  the  west  side  of  the  summit  com- 
mencing August  8,  1851.  The  smoke  and  fire  were  visible  at 
Hilo.  From  Kona  the  light  was  gorgeous  and  glorious.  Detona- 
tions were  heard  during  the  eruption,  like  the  explosion  of  gases 
or  rending  of  rocks.  According  to  Professor  Brigham,  who 
visited  the  site  in  1864,  the  starting  point  was  1,000  feet  below  the 
summit  or  two  hundred  feet  below  the  floor  of  the  caldera.  The 


86 

stream  was  ten  miles  long  and  less  than  a  mile  in  width.  Most 
of  the  lava  was  pahoehoe,  with  some  aa,  and  seemed  to  have 
cooled  rapidly.  The  course  was  westward,  following  very  closely 
an  earlier  prehistoric  flow  reaching  down  to  Kealakeakua.  The 
eruption  continued  but  three  or  four  days. 

ERUPTION  OF  1852. 

The  preceding  eruption  was  really  the  opening  scene  of  a  fine 
exhibition  six  months  later  which  started  on  the  north  side  of  the 
mountain,  February  i7th.  On  February  2Oth,  the  chief  flow  had 
shifted  to  another  place  about  10,000  feet  above  the  sea  level. 
The  escaping  lava  rose  at  first  in  a  lofty  fountain,  and  then 
flowed  easterly  twenty  miles. 

I  quote  quite  extensively  from  Mr.  Coan ;  Amer.  Jour.  Science, 
1852. 

"At  half  past  three  on  the  morning  of  the  I7th  ultimo,  a  small 
beacon  light  was  discovered  on  the  summit  of  Mauna  Loa.  At 
first  it  appeared  like  a  solitary  star  resting  on  the  apex  of  the 
mountain.  In  a  few  moments  its  light  increased  and  shone  like 
a  rising  moon.  Seamen  keeping  watch  on  deck  in  our  port  ex- 
claimed: 'What  is  that?  The  moon  is  rising  in  the  West!' 
In  fifteen  minutes  the  problem  was  solved.  A  flood  of  fire  burst 
out  of  the  mountain  and  soon  began  to  flow  in  a  brilliant  cur- 
rent down  its  northern  slope.  It  was  from  the  same  point,  and 
it  flowed  in  the  same  line  as  the  great  eruption  which  I  visited 
in  March,  1843.  In  a  short  time  immense  columns  of  burning 
lava  shot  up  heavenward  to  the  height  of  three  or  four  hundred 
feet,  flooding  the  summit  of  the  mountain  with  light  and  gilding 
the  firmament  with  its  radiance.  Streams  of  light  came  pouring 
down  the  mountain,  flashing  through  our  windows  and  lighting 
up  our  apartments  so  that  we  could  see  to  read  large  print.  When 
we  first  awoke,  so  dazzling  was  the  glare  on  our  windows  that 
we  supposed  some  building  near  us  must  be  on  fire ;  but  as  the 
light  shone  directly  upon  our  couch  and  into  our  faces  we  soon 
perceived  its  cause.  In  two  hours  the  molten  stream  had  rolled, 
as  we  judged,  about  fifteen  miles  down  the  side  of  the  mountain. 
This  eruption  was  one  of  terrible  activity  and  surpassing  splendor, 
but  it  was  short.  In  about  twenty-four  hours  all  traces  of  it 
seemed  to  be  extinguished. 

"At  daybreak  on  the  2Oth  of  February,  we  were  again  startled 
by  a  rapid  eruption  bursting  out  laterally  on  the  side  of  the  moun- 
tain facing  Hilo,  and  about  midway  from  the  base  to  the  summit 
of  the  mountain.  This  lateral  crater  was  equally  active  with  the 


87 

one  on  the  summit,  and  in  a  short  time  we  perceived  the  molten 
river  flowing  from  its  orifice  direct  towards  Hilo.  The  action 
became  more  and  more  fierce  from  hour  to  hour.  Floods  of  lava 
poured  out  of  the  mountain's  side,  and  the  glowing  river  soon 
reached  the  woods  at  the  base  of  the  mountain,  a  distance  of 
twenty  miles. 

"Clouds  of  smoke  ascended  and  hung  like  a  vast  canopy  over 
the  mountain,  or  rolled  off  upon  the  wings  of  the  wind.  These 
clouds  assumed  various  hues — murky,  blue,  white,  purple  or 
scarlet — as  they  were  more  or  less  illuminated  from  the  fiery 
abyss  below.  Sometimes  they  resembled  an  inverted  burning 
mountain  with  its  apex  pointing  to  the  awful  orifice  over  which  it 
hung.  Sometimes  the  glowing  pillar  would  shoot  up  vertically 
for  several  degrees,  and  then  describing  a  graceful  curve,  sweep 
off  horizontally,  like  the  tail  of  a  comet,  further  than  the  eye 
could  reach.  The  sable  atmosphere  of  Hilo  assumed  a  lurid 
appearance,  and  the  sun's  rays  fell  upon  us  with  a  yellow,  sickly 
light.  Clouds  of  smoke  careered  over  the  ocean,  carrying  with 
them  ashes,  cinders,  charred  leaves,  etc.,  which  fell  in  showers 
upon  the  decks  of  ships  approaching  our  coast.  The  light  was 
seen  more  than  a  hundred  miles  at  sea,  and  at  times  the  purple 
tinge  was  so  widely  diffused  as  to  appear  like  the  whole  firmament 
on  fire.  Ashes  and  capillary  vitrifactions  called  Tele's  hair'  fell 
thick  in  our  streets  and  upon  the  roofs  of  our  houses.  And  this 
state  of  things  still  continues,  for  even  now  (March  5th)  while 
I  write,  the  atmosphere  is  in  the  same  yellow  and  dingy  condition ; 
every  object  looks  pale,  and  sickly  showers  of  vitreous  filaments 
are  falling  around  us,  and  our  children  are  gathering  them. 

"As  soon  as  the  second  eruption  broke  out  I  determined  to 
visit  it.  Dr.  Wetmore  agreeing  to  accompany  me,  we  procured 
four  natives  to  carry  our  baggage,  one  of  them,  Kekai,  acting  as 
guide.  On  Monday,  the  23d  of  February,  we  all  set  off  and 
slept  in  the  outskirts  of  the  great  forest  which  separates  Hilo 
from  the  mountains.  Our  track  was  not  the  one  I  took  in  1843, 
namely,  the  bed  of  a  river ;  we  attempted  to  penetrate  the  thicket 
at  another  point,  our  general  course  bearing  southwest." 

Without  specifying  matters  relating  to  the  party  and  circum- 
stances, I  quote  the  text  farther  on : 

"At  half  past  three  P.  M.  I  reached  the  awful  crater  and  stood 
alone  in  the  light  of  its  fires.  It  was  a  moment  of  unutterable 
interest.  I  seemed  to  be  standing  in  the  presence  and  before  the 
throne  of  the  eternal  God,  and  while  all  other  voices  were  hushed 
His  alone  spoke.  I  was  10,000  feet  above  the  sea,  in  a  vast  soli- 
tude untrodden  by  the  foot  of  man  or  beast ;  amidst  a  silence  un- 


88 

broken  by  any  living  voice,  and  surrounded  by  scenes  of  terrific 
desolation.  Here  I  stood  almost  blinded  by  the  insufferable 
brightness;  almost  deafened  with  the  startling  clangor;  almost 
petrified  with  the  awful  scene.  The  heat  was  so  intense  that  the 
crater  could  not  be  approached  within  forty  or  fifty  yards  on  the 
windward  side,  and  probably  not  within  two  miles  on  the  leeward. 
The  eruption,  as  before  stated,  commenced  on  the  very  summit 
of  the  mountain,18  but  it  would  seem  that  the  lateral  pressure  of 
the  embowelled  lava  was  so  great  as  to  force  itself  out  at  a  weaker 
point  in  the  side  of  the  mountain,  at  the  same  time  cracking  and 
rending  the  mountain  all  the  way  down  from  the  summit  to  the 
place  of  ejection.  The  mountain  seemed  to  be  siphunculated ;  the 
fountain  of  fusion  being  elevated  some  two  or  three  thousand 
feet  above  the  lateral  crater,  and  being  pressed  down  an  inclined 
subterranean  tube,  escaped  through  this  valve  with  a  force  which 
threw  its  burning  masses  to  the  height  of  four  or  five  hundred 
feet.  The  eruption  first  issued  from  a  depression  in  the  moun- 
tain, but  a  rim  of  scoriae  two  hundred  feet  in  elevation  had  al- 
ready been  formed  around  the  orifice  in  the  form  of  a  hollow 
truncated  cone.  This  cone  was  about  half  a  mile  in  circumfer- 
ence at  its  base,  and  the  orifice  at  the  top  may  be  three  hundred 
feet  in  diameter.  I  approached  as  near  as  I  could  bear  the  heat, 
and  stood  amidst  the  ashes,  cinders,  scoriae,  slag  and  pumice, 
which  were  scattered  wide  and  wildly  around.  From  the  horrid 
throat  of  this  cone  vast  and  continuous  jets  of  red-hot  and  some- 
times white-hot  lava  were  being  ejected  with  a  noise  that  was  al- 
most deafening,  and  a  force  which  threatened  to  rend  the  rocky 
ribs  of  the  mountain  and  to  shiver  its  adamantine  pillars.  At 
times  the  sound  seemed  subterranean,  deep  and  infernal.  First,  a 
rumbling,  a  muttering,  a  hissing  or  deep  premonitory  surging; 
then  followed  an  awful  explosion,  like  the  roar  of  broadsides  in  a 
naval  battle,  or  the  quick  discharge  of  pack  after  pack  of  artillery 
on  the  field  of  carnage.  Sometimes  the  sound  resembled  that 
of  10,000  furnaces  in  full  blast.  Again  it  was  like  the  rattling 
of  a  regiment  of  musketry ;  sometimes  it  was  like  the  roar  of  the 
ocean  along  a  rock-bound  shore;  and  sometimes  like  the  boom- 
ing of  distant  thunder.  The  detonations  were  heard  along  the 
shores  of  Hilo.  The  eruptions  were  not  intermittent,  but  con- 
tinuous. Volumes  of  the  fusion  were  constantly  ascending  and 
descending  like  a  jet  d'eau.  The  force  which  expelled  these 
igneous  columns  from  the  orifice  shivered  them  into  millions  of 
fragments  of  unequal  size,  some  of  which  would  be  rising,  some 


18  Eefers  to  the  beacon  light  of  the  17th  instant. 


89 

falling,  some  shooting  off  laterally,  others  describing  graceful 
curves ;  some  moving  in  tangents,  and  some  falling  back  in  vertical 
lines  into  the  mouth  of  the  crater.  Every  particle  shone  with  the 
brilliancy  of  Sirius,  and  all  kinds  of  geometrical  figures  were 
being  formed  and  broken  up.  No  tongue,  no  pen,  no  pencil  can 
portray  the  beauty,  the  grandeur,  the  terrible  sublimity  of  the 
scene.  To  be  appreciated  it  must  be  felt.  *  *  *  During  the 
night  the  scene  surpassed  all  power  of  description.  Vast  col- 
umns of  lava  at  a  white  heat  shot  up  continuously  in  the  ever 
varying  forms  of  pillars,  pyramids,  cones,  towers,  turrets,  spires, 
minarets,  etc.,  while  the  descending  showers  poured  in  one  in- 
cessant cataract  of  fire  upon  the  rim  of  the  crater  down  its  burning 
throat  and  over  the  surrounding  area; — each  falling  avalanche 
containing  matter  enough  to  sink  the  proudest  ship.  A  large 
fissure  opening  through  the  lower  rim  of  the  crater  gave  vent 
to  the  molten  flood  which  constantly  poured  out  of  the  orifice,  and 
rolled  down  the  mountain  in  a  deep,  broad  river,  at  the  rate  prob- 
ably of  ten  miles  an  hour.  This  fiery  stream  we  could  trace  all 
the  way  down  the  mountain  until  it  was  hidden  from  the  eye  by 
its  windings  in  the  forest,  a  distance  of  some  thirty  miles.  The 
stream  shone  with  great  brilliancy  in  the  night,  and  a  long  hori- 
zontal drapery  of  light  hung  over  its  whole  course.  But  the 
great  furnace  on  the  mountain  was  the  all  absorbing  object." 

May  6.  "The  great  furnace  on  the  mountain  is  still  in  terrible 
blast.  No  decrease  of  activity,  but  rather  an  increase." 

In  July  Mr.  Coan  again  visited  the  flow.  The  fires  had  ceased. 
A  kind  of  pumice  was  very  plentiful,  beginning  ten  miles  from 
the  cone.  It  grew  more  and  more  abundant  till  the  source  of  the 
flow  was  reached — where  it  covered  everything  to  the  depth  of 
five  to  ten  feet. 

Messrs.  H.  Kinney  and  Fuller  visited  the  source  of  this  flow  in 
March.19 

Mr.  Kinney  described  jets  rising,  from  four  hundred  to  eight 
hundred  feet  and  represented  the  existence  of  a  deep  unearthly, 
roar,  comparable  to  that  of  Niagara,  heard  a  long  distance  away. 
The  heat  also  created  terrific  whirlwinds.  The  two  gentlemen 
agreed  that  the  diameter  of  the  crater  from  which  the  fountain 
rose  was  about  1,000  feet;  the  height  of  the  crater  from  one  hun- 
dred to  one  hundred  and  fifty  feet;  height  of  the  fountain  two 
hundred  to  seven  hundred  feet,  rarely  below  three  hundred; 


19  Amer.  Jour.  Science,  1852,  XIV,  p.  257. 


90 

and  the  diameter  of  the  fountain  from  two  hundred  to  three 
hundred  feet.  The  jet  sometimes  became  a  Gothic  spire  of  two 
hundred  feet,  then  after  subsiding  stood  at  three  hundred  feet 
with  points  comparable  to  architectural  ornaments.  Rev.  D.  B. 
Lyman  of  Hilo  confirmed  these  estimates.  The  lava  streams 
sometimes  seem  to  have  been  two  hundred  to  three  hundred  feet 
thick. 

Rev.  E.  P.  Baker  of  Hilo  visited  the  scene  of  this  overflow  in 
1889  and  found  a  single  red  cone  in  the  midst  of  much  pumice. 
There  seemed  to  have  been  only  one  outlet.  The  lower  part  01 
the  stream  consisted  of  aa  changing  to  pahoehoe  higher  up. 

THE  ERUPTION  OF  1852. 
Described  in  verse  by  Titus  Coan,  and  published  in  the  Friend. 

Hark !  hark !  while  yet  'tis  dark 
There's  a  deep,  rumbling  sound, 
As  of  spirits  underground, 
Rolling  rocks  for  melting, 
Gathering  ore  for  smelting. 

Hark!  while  night  is  still  dark 
In  earth's  hidden  caves, 
Theres'  a  noise  as  of  waves 

Muttering,  sputtering, 

Splashing  dashing, 
Like  the  sound  of  the  surf, 
Like  hoof  on  the  turf. 

A  shake  and  a  shiver, 

A  quake  and  a  quiver. 

Hush!     Hush! 
For  a  moment  all  is  still 
On  yon  dark  and  distant  hill. 
Nature  stands  all  awed  and  silent, 
While  stern  Pluto  lifts  his  trident, 
Seated  on  a  sulphur  throne. 
To  us  mortals  all  unknown 
In  the  distant  realms  of  wonder 
Vulcan  forges  bolts  of  thunder. 


Hark !  hark  again ! 
Still  a  rumbling  now  and  then ; 
Old  Vulcan  blows ;  the  furnace  glows ; 
Earth's  ribs  are  rent;  hot  fumes  find  vent. 
Fire!      Fire!  higher,  still  higher, 
The  glaring  columns  rise. 
A  burning  flood  like  Hell's  hot  blood, 
An  angry  cloud,  with  thunders  loud, 
Shoots  upward  to  the  skies. 

And  now  on  high,  'gainst  flaming  sky 
Stand  turrets,  towers,  minarets,  spires, 
All  dazzling  with  devouring  fires. 
A  pillar  of  light,  which  scatters  old  night ; 
Rising,  sinking,  standing,  swaying, 
A  red,  molten  fountain, 
On  a  dark,  heaving  mountain. 

Look !      Look ! 
A  pyramid  of  glowing  coals, 
From  whose  direful  vortex  rolls 
Curling  smoke  of  every  hue — 
Crimson,  purple,  sable,  blue — 
Convolving  clouds  of  varied  dye, 
Emblazoned  on  the  fretted  sky. 

Sweeping  like  a  comet's  tail, 
Blazing  like  a  meteor's  trail. 
Like  the  track  of  fierce  Mars, 
On  his  burning  wheeled  cars, 
Like  the  bright,  gleaming  sword 

In  the  hand  of  the  Lord ! 
Down,  down  the  mountain's  sides. 

A  fiery  dragon  glides 
Old  marble  melts  along  his  way, 
His  eyes  turn  midnight  into  day, 
His  flaming  tail  is  waved  on  high, 
And  sweeps  night's  watchman  from  the  sky. 

Hush!  hush! 

There's  a  rush  and  a  rattle 

Like  armies  in  battle! 

Squadrons  dashing ;  broad  swords  clashing, 
Sables  gleaming,  red  blood  streaming. 


92 

There's  a  break  and  a  roar, 
Like  the  wave  on  the  shore, 
Like  the  crash  of  dread  thunder 

Rending  earth  asunder 

Like  the  fiat  of  God, 

Shaking  Earth  with  His  nod 

Like  the  breath  of  His  ire 

Setting  Heaven  on  fire; 

Like  the  roaring  on  high 

When  His  chariots  draw  nigh; 

Like  the  trump's  direful  blast 

When  Time'  cycles  are  past. 

Smoke,  fire,  sulphur,  nitre, 
Glaring  brighter  and  still  brighter. 
Bang,  bang,  bang!  clang,  clang,  clang! 

Harsh,  heavy,  shrill, 
O'er  mountain,  dell  and  hill, 
Heaven's  high  artillery  rang. 

Flaming  meteors  dance  around ; 
Burning  whirlwinds  sweep  the  ground: 
A  fiery  hail  from  clouds  above 
Is  scattered  wide  o'er  mountain  wide. 

See !  see ! 

Dread  Typhoeus'  forge  is  sevenfold  blast, 
And  lasting  hills  dissolving  fast. 
The  glowing  furnace  fiercer  glows ; 
The  blood  red  river,  hotter  flows; 
Rocks  rend,  roar,  melt  and  disappear, 
Mingling  in  wild  and  mad  career. 

Clouds  gather,  infold,  gyrate,  brighten, 
Thicken,  darken,  thunder,  lighten, 
Sigh  the  winds,  and  howl  and  rave, 
Driving  hot  cinders  o'er  wildwood  and  wave. 
From  morn  till  night,  pale  yellow  light 
Below;  on  high,  shrouds  earth  and  sky. 
Dark  forests  blaze  in  the  flame's  red  rays, 
Then  vanish  from  sight,  like  a  specter  of  night. 

Upon  the  fiery  tempest's  breath, 

Desolation  rolls  on  death. 


93 

Ah,  Pele,  dread  Goddess  of  Fire, 
Why  flash  thine  eyes  with  kindling  ire? 
Why  stir  afresh  thy  everglowing  coals, 
While  from  thy  throat  this  burning  river  rolls? 
Why  wreathe  thy  mythic  head  in  smoke  and  flame? 
And  startle  mortals  with  thy  fearful  name? 
Why  rend  thy  hoary  locks  and  scatter  thy  silver  hair? 
Why  sound  thine  awful  trumpet  forth 

Upon  the  midnight  air? 

But,  hush  once  more ;  the  scene  is  o'er ; 

For  twice  ten  days  the  fountain  plays ; 

Then  all  is  still ;  o'er  dell  and  hill : 

The  whirlwind's  sweep  is  lulled  to  sleep 

Hell's  burning  breath  is  quenched  in  death, 

From  murky  cloud  the  thunder  loud 

Has  ceased  to  roar  on  mount  and  shore, 

The  awful  blast  has  hurried  past, 

The  fiery  flood  obeyed  its  God; 

"Thus  far,"  He  said,  "and  here  he  stayed." 

ERUPTION  OF  MARCH,  1852. 
BY  J.  FULLER  in  the  Friend,  May,  1852. 

On  reaching  the  seat  of  activity,  he  writes  thus : 
"Imagine  yourself,  then,  just  ascended  to  the  top  of  the  above 
mentioned  eminence.  Before  you  at  a  distance  of  two  miles, 
rises  the  new  formed  crater  in  the  midst  of  fields  of  black,  smok- 
ing lava,  while  from  its  centre  there  jets  a  column  of  red  hot 
lava  to  an  immense  height,  threatening  instant  annihilation  to 
any  presumptuous  mortal  who  shall  come  within  the  reach  of  its 
scathing  influence.  The  crater  may  be  1,000  feet  in  diameter 
and  from  one  hundred  to  one  hundred  and  fifty  feet  high.  The 
column  of  liquid  lava  which  is  constantly  sustained  in  the  air, 
is  from  two  hundred  to  five  hundred  feet  high,  and  perhaps  the 
highest  jets  may  reach  as  high  as  seven  hundred  feet !  There  is  a 
constant  and  rapid  succession  of  jets  one  within  another,  the 
masses  falling  outside  and  cooling  as  they  fall,  form  a  sort  of 
dark  veil,  through  which  the  new  jets  darting  up  with  every  de- 
gree of  force  and  every  variety  of  form  render  this  grand  fire 
fountain  one  of  the  most  magnificent  objects  that  human  imagina- 
tion can  conceive  of." 

The  finer  products,  ashes  and  pumice,  fall  in  constant  showers 


94 

for  some  miles  around  the  vent.  Besides  several  craters  formed 
from  earlier  eruptions  there  is  a  small  one  still  steaming,  which 
seems  to  have  been  the  first  outbreak.  Below  it  are  several  foun- 
tains constantly  pouring  out  an  immense  quantity  of  molten  lava, 
which  flows  in  a  glowing  stream  down  the  mountain  slope. 
This  flow  came  within  seven  miles  of  Hilo,  says  the  Editor. 

ERUPTION  OF  1855. 

This  commenced  August  nth  and  continued  for  sixteen  months. 
The  amount  of  lava  ejected  was  the  greatest  of  any  of  the  flows 
seen  by  modern  observers.  The  only  witnesses  of  the  scene  on 
record  were  Titus  Coan,  S.  E.  Bishop  and  F.  A.  Weld.  It  started 
from  a  point  12,000  feet  high  and  nearer  the  summit  than  the 
preceding  flow.  The  first  thing  seen  was  a  small  point  of  light 
much  like  Sirius;  it  threw  off  coruscations  of  light  and  soon  re- 
sembled a  full  orbed  sun.  As  the  stream  continued  to  flow 
directly  towards  Hilo,  the  inhabitants  grew  more  and  more  anxi- 
ous and  made  frequent  trips  to  determine  its  progress.  Mr.  Coan 
went  up  early  in  October.  In  three  days  he  reached  the  place 
where  it  was  three  miles  wide.  Usually  it  was  broader,  some- 
times reaching  a  width  of  eight  miles. 

"Early  on  Saturday  the  6th,"  he  says,  "we  were  ascending  our 
rugged  pathway  amidst  steam,  smoke  and  heat  which  almost 
blinded  and  scathed  us.  At  ten  we  came  to  open  orifices  down 
which  we  looked  into  the  fiery  river  which  rushed  furiously  be- 
neath our  feet.  We  had  seen  in  the  night  many  lights  like  street 
lamps,  glowing  along  the  slope  of  the  mountain  at  considerable 
distances  from  each  other,  while  the  stream  made  its  way  in  a 
subterranean  channel,  traced  only  by  these  vents.  From  10  A.  M. 
and  onward  these  fiery  vents  were  frequent,  some  of  them  meas- 
uring ten,  twenty,  fifty  or  one  hundred  feet  in  diameter.  In  one 
place  only,  we  saw  the  river  uncovered  for  thirty  rods  and  mak- 
ing down  a  declivity  of  from  ten  to  twenty-five  degrees.  The 
scene  was  awful,  the  momentum  incredible,  the  fusion  perfect  (a 
white  heat),  and  the  velocity  forty  miles  an  hour.  The  banks 
on  each  side  of  the  stream  were  red-hot,  jagged  and  overhang- 
ing, adorned  with  burning  stalactites  and  festooned  with  immense 
quantities  of  filamentose  or  capillary  glass,  called  Pele's  hair. 
From  this  point  to  the  summit  crater  all  was  inexpressibly  inter- 
esting. Valve  after  valve  opened  as  we  went  up,  out  of  which 
issued  fire,  smoke  and  brimstone,  and  down  which  we  looked  as 
into  the  caverns  of  Pluto.  The  gases  were  so  pungent  that  we 
had  to  use  the  greatest  caution,  approaching  a  stream  or  an  orifice 


95 

on  the  windward  side,  and  watching  every  change  or  gyration 
of  the  breeze.  Sometimes  whirlwinds  would  sweep  along,  loaded 
with  deadly  gases  and  threatening  the  unwary  traveller.  After  a 
hot  and  weary  struggle  over  smoking  masses  of  jagged  scoriae 
and  slag,  thrown  in  wild  confusion  into  hills,  cones  and  ridges, 
and  spread  out  over  vast  fields,  we  came  at  one  P.  M.  to  the 
terminal  or  summit  crater  (not  Mokuaweoweo) . 

"This  we  found  to  be  a  low  elongated  cone,  or  rather  a  series 
of  cones,  standing  over  a  great  fissure  in  the  mountain.  Mount- 
ing to  the  crest  of  the  highest  cone,  we  expected  to  look  down 
into  a  great  sea  of  raging  lavas,  but  instead  of  this  the  throat 
of  the  crater,  at  the  depth  of  one  hundred  feet,  was  clogged  with 
scoriae,  cinders  and  ashes  through  which  the  smoke  and  gases 
rushed  up  furiously  from  seams  and  holes.  One  orifice  within 
this  cone  was  about  twenty  feet  in  diameter,  and  was  constantly 
sending  up  a  dense  column  of  blue  and  white  smoke  which  rolled 
off  in  masses  and  spread  over  all  that  part  of  the  mountain, 
darkening  the  sun  and  obscuring  every  object  a  few  rods  distant. 
*  *  *  *  The  summit  cone  which  we  ascended  was  about 
one  hundred  feet  high,  five  hundred  long  and  three  hundred 
broad  at  the  base.  Several  other  cones  below  us  were  of  the 
same  form  and  general  character,  presenting  the  appearance  of 
smoking  tumuli  along  the  upper  slope  of  the  mountain.  *  *  * 
The  molten  stream  first  appears  some  ten  miles  below  the  foun- 
tain crater." 

The  principal  stream  with  all  its  windings  was  thought  to  be 
sixty  miles  long,  lying  between  the  flows  of  1843  and  1852.  From 
his  various  trips  Mr.  Coan  had  ascertained  that  a  line  of  fissures 
extended  from  Mokuaweoweo  for  five  miles  down  to  the  place  of 
this  outbreak,  along  which  there  were  cones  of  scoriae  and  sand 
that  had  been  thrown  up  at  various  times. 

The  progress  of  the  front  of  the  stream,  owing  to  the  ob- 
structions of  trees,  depressions  and  irregularities,  was  very 
slow,  not  more  than  a  mile  per  week.  When  there  were  obstruc- 
tions the  edge  of  the  flow  would  become  crusted,  the  lava  behind 
would  accumulate  until  the  pressure  became  too  great  to  be  with- 
stood, and  then  the  liquid  would  burst  through  in  a  spurt  and 
continue  downwards  till  another  set  of  obstructions  caused  an 
accumulation  and  another  break  allowed  a  discharge.  Hence  as 
one  ascends  any  of  the  flows  he  seems  to  pass  over  a  series  of 
rough  terraces. 

Such  a  stream  will  also  become  widened  by  lateral  discharge 
into  a  number  of  channels.  After  a  free  flowing  for  a  while 
there  may  be  much  hardening  of  the  crust  and  several  days  of  in- 


96 

activity.  "At  length,  immense  areas  of  the  solidified  lava,  four, 
five  or  six  miles  above  the  extremity,  are  again  in  motion ;  cones 
are  uncapped,  domes  crack,  hills  and  ridges  of  scoriae  move,  and 
great  slabs  of  lava  are  raised  vertically  or  tilted  in  every  direc- 
tion." 

October  22,  seventy-two  days  after  the  commencement  of  the 
eruption,  the  fountain  still  continued  to  flow.  Mr.  Coan  made 
another  trip — this  time  to  the  lower  end  of  the  stream.  A  river 
of  water  below  had  become  discolored  with  the  pyroligneous  acid 
distilled  from  the  burning  trees  and  the  water  turned  black.  He 
attempted  several  times  to  cross  the  stream.  "The  hardened  sur- 
face of  the  stream  was  swelling  and  heaving  at  innumerable  points 
by  the  accumulating  masses  and  the  upraised  pressure  of  the  lava 
below;  and  valves  were  continually  opening,  out  of  which  the 
molten  flood  gushed  and  flowed  in  little  streams  on  every  side 
of  us.  Not  a  square  rod  could  be  found  on  all  this  wide  expanse, 
where  the  glowing  fusion  could  not  be  seen  under  our  feet  through 
holes  and  cracks  in  the  superincumbent  stratum  on  which  we 
were  walking.  The  open  pits  and  pools  and  streams  we  avoided 
by  zigzag  course ;  but  as  we  advanced  these  became  more  numer- 
ous and  intensely  active,  and  the  heat  becoming  unendurable  we 
again  beat  a  retreat  after  having  proceeded  some  thirty  rods  upon 
the  stream.  It  may  seem  strange  to  many  that  one  should  venture 
on  such  a  fiery  stream  at  all,  but  you  will  understand  that  the 
greater  part  of  the  surface  of  the  stream  was  hardened  to  the 
depth  of  from  six  inches  to  two  or  three  feet;  that  the  in- 
candescent stream  flowed  nearly  under  this  crust  like  water  under 
ice,  but  showing  up  through  ten  thousand  fissures  and  breaking 
up  in  countless  pools.  On  the  hardened  parts  we  could  walk, 
though  the  heat  was  almost  scorching,  and  the  smoke  and  gases 
suffocating.  We  could  even  tread  on  a  fresh  stream  of  lava  only 
one  hour  after  it  had  poured  from  a  boiling  caldron,  so  soon  does 
the  lava  harden  in  contact  with  air." 

Both  Mr.  Coan  and  Professor  Dana  are  on  record  as  saying 
that  there  must  have  been  fissures  far  down  the  mountain  from 
which  lava  issued,  as  well  as  from  the  source  12,000  feet  high. 
The  latter,  however,  does  not  speak  of  them  in  his  latest  de- 
scription of  this  flow,  so  that  it  may  be  inferred  that  he  had 
ceased  to  entertain  that  view. 

March  6,  1856,  Mr.  Coan  writes:  "The  great  fire-fountain  is 
still  in  eruption  and  the  terminus  of  the  stream  is  only  five  miles 
from  the  shore.  The  lava  moves  slowly  along  on  the  surface  of 
the  ground,  and  at  points  where  the  quantity  of  lava  is  small,  we 
dip  it  up  with  an  iron  spoon  held  in  the  hand.  During  the  last 


97 

three  weeks  the  stream  has  made  no  progress  towards  Hilo,  and 
we  begin  to  hope  that  the  supply  at  the  summit-fountain  has 
diminished.  There  is,  however,  still  much  smoke  at  the  ter- 
minal crater."  This  hope  became  fact.  The  stream  stopped  at  a 
point  about  five  miles  above  Hilo. 

Mr.  Coan  visited  this  flow  eight  times  during  its  history.  On 
the  22nd  of  October,  1856,  he  writes  more  fully  about  the  sup- 
posed fissures :  "A  fracture  or  fractures  occurred  near  the  sum- 
mit of  the  mountain  which  extends  in  an  irregular  line  from  the 
terminal  point,  say  five  miles  down  the  northeast  slope  of  the 
mountain.  From  this  serrated  and  yawning  fissure,  from  two  to 
thirty  yards  wide,  the  molten  flood  rushed  out  and  spread  laterally 
for  four  or  five  miles,  filling  the  ravines,  flowing  over  the  plains,, 
and  covering  all  those  high  regions,  from  ten  to  one  or  two  hun- 
dred feet  deep.  Along  this  extended  fissure,  elongated  cones- 
were  formed  at  the  points  of  the  greatest  activity.  These  cones, 
appear  as  if  split  through  their  larger  diameter,  the  inner  sides; 
being  perpendicular  or  overhanging,  jagged  and  hung  with 
stalactites,  draped  with  filamentous  vitrifications,  and  encrusted 
with  sulphur,  sulphate  of  lime  and  other  salts. 

"The  outsides  of  these  cones  are  inclined  planes,  on  an  angle 
of  forty  or  sixty  degrees,  and  composed  of  pumice,  cinder,  vol- 
canic sand,  tufa,  etc.  You  will  not,  however,  understand  that 
these  semi-cones  were  once  entire  and  that  they  have  been  rent : 
they  are  simply  masses  of  ridges  of  cinder  and  dross  deposited 
on  each  side  of  the  fractures  where  the  action  is  greatest.  It  is 
all  a  new  deposit.  After  you  leave  the  region  of  open  fissures, 
near  the  summit  of  the  mountain,  all  below  appears  to  be  a  How 
on  the  surface"  20 

ERUPTION  OF  1855. 

Statement  by  S.  E.  BISHOP,  dated  January  22,  1856. 
From  the  Friend,  March,  1856. 

We  found  a  considerable  ascent  between  the  shore  and  the 
present  terminus  of  the  lava,  which  is  about  seven  miles  from 
the  town,  towards  which  it  is  directly  advancing  with  unabated 
activity.  There  still  intervenes  about  three  miles  of  dense  forest 
and  jungle  between  it  and  the  open  ground.  It  has  now  been 
flowing  about  twenty-three  weeks,  all  but  the  first  two  or  three 

20  Mr.  Coan  Js  numerous  letters  appeared  chiefly  in  the  American  Journal 
of  Science. 


98 

of  which  have  been  occupied  in  fighting  or  gnawing  its  way  with 
sluggish  but  resistless  force  through  ten  or  twelve  miles  of  forest. 
The  whole  stream  is  some  sixty  miles  long.      Its  rate  of  advance 
has  been  for  a  long  time  quite  steady  at  about  one  mile  in  two 
weeks.     These  data  may  enable  you  to  calculate  how  long  it  must 
•continue  to  run  to  complete  its  victory  over  its  most  formidable 
•obstacle,  the  forest,  which  has  so  far  been  the  means  of  preserving 
the  harbor  of  Hilo  from  its  terrific  invasion.     It  was  about  dark, 
when  having  ascended  for  one  hundred  rods  the  bed  of  the  branch 
*of  the  Wailuku  River,  we  mounted  a  pali  between  two  nearly  dry 
^cascades  and  found  ourselves  in  the  presence  of  the  blazing  woods 
.and  jungle.      Passing  up  a  few  yards,  we  suddenly  stumbled  on 
the  flowing  lava,  in  a  narrow  dull  sluggish  stream,  filling  a  side 
channel  of  the  brook.      It  being  in  small  quantity,  yet  in  a  state 
of  fusion,  gave  us  an  admirable  opportunity  of  obtaining  such 
specimens  as  we  could  conveniently  take  away.      This  lava  ap- 
peared to  be  about  a  hundred  yards  in  advance  of  a  large  body 
of  the  same  about  three  hundred  yards  wide  which  was  vigor- 
ously burning  its  way  down  toward  us  through  the  woods.     We 
finally  laid  down  in  a  place  that  seemed  secure,  on  the  brow  of 
a  dry  cascade ;  but  at  three  A.  M.  a  body  of  the  enemy  came  down 
in  strong  force  and  routed  us  out  to  watch  its  movement.     Un- 
obstructed in  the  smooth  channel  it  rolled  on  about  one  hundred 
feet  an  hour,  its  front  a  glaring  red,  cooling  as  it  flowed.     At  four 
a  bright  tongue  darted  forward  and  rolled  with  dull  plash  over 
the  precipice.     We  sprang  down  to  witness  the  marvelous  sight. 
A  brilliant  cascade  of  intensely  bright  lava  was  pouring  down  a 
height  of  twenty-five  feet,  first  in  a  broken,  and  at  last  in  a  con- 
tinuous torrent,  striking  on  a  ledge  and  sliding  off  into  the  deep 
pool  below,  which  hissed  and  roared  in  agonizing  resentment  at 
the  horrible  intrusion  upon  its  placid  slumber.      The  sheet  of 
fire  was  about  six  feet  wide,  narrowing  beautifully  till  it  struck 
the  rock,  where  it  gradually  heaped  a  mound  of  half  solidified 
lava,  which  would  now  and  then  crash  down  into  the  water,  which 
would  then  splutter  and  fly  in  all  directions,  while  a  glorious 
column  of  white  vapor  rose  far  aloft.      We  felt  that  we  had  a 
spectacle  provided  for  us,  and  until  day  broke  we  stood  devouring 
it  with  our  eyes.      No  words  can  describe  the  exquisite  and  en- 
trancing beauty  of  the  whole  scene,  of  which  the  hideous  crawling 
monster  we  had  seen  above  thus  suddenly  transfigured  and  leap- 
ing in  glory  now  became  the  center  and  the  gem.     Imagine  a  scene 
of  most  dim  and  delicate  beauty,  such  as  you  may  have  seen  or 
thought  of,  a   silver  cascade  with  its  flashing  foam  and  dark 
romantic  amphitheater  of  cliff  and  forest  all  thrown  into  dim  but 


99 

rich  relief  by  a  full  moon  in  a  cloudless  sky,  then  change  your 
pale  silver  flood  into  one  of  intense  burning  gold,  rolling  down 
still  and  bright  as  the  heart  of  a  furnace,  and  you  can  imagine 
what  a  gem  we  gazed  on  and  in  what  a  setting.      Nor  did  the 
grand  white  column  of  steam  detract  from  the  beauty  of  the  sight. 
But  day  broke,  the  moon  paled ;  the  bright  flood  was  again  encased 
in  its  black  and  hideous  mail,  a  huge  mound  of  smoking  scoriae 
was  filling  the  basin,  and  the  boiling  water  was  flowing  by  our 
feet.     So  we  returned  up  the  other  side  of  the  stream  to  observe 
by  daylight  the  great  river  of  lava  above.      Making  our  way  to 
its  edge  in  various  places,  we  were  enabled  to  see  what  a  vast 
river  of  it,  now  congealed  in  black  misshapen  billows  of  coke- 
like  stone,  had  forced  its  way  from  the  S.  W.  past  the  point 
where  we  stood,  towards  the  Wailuku  River,  but  that  it  had 
paused  in  that  direction  and  had  broken  out  on  the  side  where  we 
stood,  pushing  forward  long  tongues  of  fire  into  the  timber  as  an 
advance  and  following  these  up  in  mass,  burning  and  covering 
what  they  had  spared.      In  one  case  we  walked  one  hundred 
yards  through  the  woods  upon  a  slender  thread  of  cooled  lava, 
say  fifteen  feet  wide,  across  which  lay  trees  and  bushes  whose 
roots  it  had  burned  away.      But  everywhere  the  following  fusion 
forbade  our  passage  on  to  the  main  stream.     This  we  judged  to 
be  more  than  a  mile  wide.     Its  depth  is  irregular.     In  the  center 
it  appeared  to  be  heaped  up  thirty  to  fifty  feet.      We  estimated 
its  breadth  by  the  appearance  of  the  trees  beyond.     But  for  this 
test  to  correct  deceptive  appearance,  I  should  have  called  it  not 
above  one  hundred  yards  wide.      The  advancing  phalanx  of  fire 
was  about  to  reach  en  masse  the  wider  and  deeper  channel  of 
the  stream  below  the  fall,  where  it  was  evident  so  much  of  it  as 
the  capacity  of  the  channel  would  admit,  would  pass  forward  with 
rapidity,  and  might  run  on  even  miles  in  advance  of  the  rest. 
But  even  should  this  small  portion  soon  pass  down  the  Wailuku 
and  reach  the  sea  it  could  do  no  fatal  injury.      Should  the  main 
body  take  the  same  course  as  appearances  indicate  it  would,  the 
town  and  harbor  would  be  totally  destroyed.     It  is,  however,  the 
opinion  of  some  who  are  familiar  with  the  ground  that  the  gen- 
eral direction  of  the  lava  after  leaving  the  woods  would  be  to  the 
southward  of  the  town,  across  the  Waiakea  River,  and  into  the 
bay  near  the  present  projecting  reef  which  forms  the  harbor.     It 
is  of  little  use  to  speculate  upon  the  result.     This  great  eruption 
is  an  appalling  thing.      The  hand  of  God  governs  it.      He  can 
turn  its  course  or  stay  it  altogether.      But  our  fears  are  not 
allayed  when  we  look  at  Mauna  Loa  and  see  those  two  vast  col- 
umns of  smoke  which  it  is  still  pouring  forth.      Some  here  have 


100 

in  their  fears  that  faith  in  the  Hearer  of  Prayer  which  God's, 
word  justifies,  and  are  supplicating  the  Divine  interposition  to 
avert  the  threatened  calamity. 

Mr.  F.  A.  Weld,  an  Englishman,  visited  the  1855  flow  Nov. 
i6th,  coming  up  from  Kilauea.  He  passed  the  source  of  the  '52 
eruption,  10,000  feet  above  the  sea,  and  reached  the  lava  stream 
about  three  miles  below  the  uppermost  crater.  The  stream  was 
about  two  miles  wide,  presenting  every  variety  of  form  and  dis- 
tortion, sometimes  with  a  smooth  surface,  broken  by  cracks  and 
fissures,  elsewhere  twisted  like  strands  of  coiled  rope  or  rolled  out 
into  huge  waves  and  serpentine  convolutions.  Smoke  and  steam 
rose  from  it  in  many  places,  and  the  rock  was  hot,  not  far  distant 
from  the  liquid  fire.  He  had  a  fine  view  of  the  fiery  flood  below 
where  the  surface  had  fallen  down.  The  huge  arch  and  roof 
glowed  red-hot  and  the  glare  was  perfectly  scorching.  ,  The  lava 
at  almost  white  heat  moved  from  three  to  four  miles  per  hour. 
Stones  thrown  upon  the  stream  were  carried  along.  The  "lower 
crater"  consisted  of  dark  fantastically  shaped  rocks,  volumes  of 
smoke,  heaps  of  stones,  surrounded  by  an  ocean  of  partially 
cooled  lava.  The  discharge  was  entirely  subterranean.  He  at- 
tempted to  look  down  one  of  the  chimneys  but  could  see  only  a 
long,  broad  fissure  filled  with  smoke  in  the  brief  period  when  he 
could  observe  without  suffocation.  The  "upper  crater"  was  com- 
posed of  an  infinity  of  steam  and  smoke  vents  at  the  foot  and  on 
the  sides  of  two  large  mounds  or  hills  of  small  loose  stones,  prob- 
ably lapilli.  Volumes  of  red  smoke  and  partially  ignited  gases 
issued  from  the  earth  which  would  appear  as  actual  flame  by 
night.  The  altitude  was  estimated  to  be  12,000  feet  and  six  or 
eight  miles  below  the  summit  of  Mauna  Loa,  1,500  feet  higher. 
The  stream  of  lava  below  was  advancing  about  a  mile  per  week. — • 
From  Quarterly  Journal  Geol.  Soc.,  London,  Vol.  13. 

THE  ERUPTION  OF  1859. 

This  started  at  an  elevation  of  10,500  feet  on  the  north  side 
of  Mauna  Loa  and  was  observed  by  President  Beckwith  and  Pro- 
fessors R.  C.  Haskell  and  W.  D.  Alexander  of  Oahu  College,, 
Rev.  L.  Lyons  of  Waimea,  Rev.  Titus  Coan,  and  by  W.  Lowthian 
Green.  Most  of  these  gentlemen  have  published  their  views  of 
the  phenomena  from  which  it  is  possible  to  compile  a  satisfactory 
sketch.  It  is  the  only  flow  from  high  up  the  mountain  which  suc- 
ceeded in  reaching  the  ocean.  There  was  an  opening  four  miles 
higher  up  than  the  principal  scene  of  display,  for  there  is  a  nar- 
row stream  of  lava  following  a  crevice  to  the  uppermost  place  of" 


101 

discharge.  Mr.  Vaudrey,  an  English  traveler,  happened  to  be 
upon  Mauna  Loa  when  this  eruption  broke  out,  and  with  his 
guides  he  hastened  to  this  spot.  There  was  a  simple  fountain  of 
white-hot  molten  stone  rising  hundreds  of  feet  into  the  air,  and 
falling  with  a  continual  dull  roar. 

Rev.  Mr.  Lyons  states  that  on  Jan.  23d  smoke  was  seen  from 
Waimea  gathering  upon  Mauna  Loa.  In  the  evening  lava  spouted 
out  at  the  upper  opening  and  soon  another  jet  appeared  at  the 
lower  crater.  No  earthquakes  were  noted  in  connection  with 
this  outbreak ;  but  between  Oahu  and  Molokai  parboiled  fish  were 
seen  for  several  days  after  the  2ist.  At  Honolulu  the  atmos- 
phere was  so  thick  and  hazy  as  to  cause  excitement  before  the 
news  of  the  outbreak  came.  The  Oahu  College  party  started  for 
the  scene  Feb.  ist,  reaching  Kealakekua  on  the  3d  of  February. 
The  stream  had  on  Jan.  3ist  reached  the  sea  at  Wainanalii,  a 
dozen  miles  south  of  Kawaihae,  a  distance  of  thirty-three  miles,  in 
eight  days.  From  a  distance  of  twenty-five  miles  liquid  lava  could 
be  seen  issuing  from  a  crater  one  hundred  and  fifty  feet  high  and 
two  hundred  feet  in  diameter,  spouting  up  to  the  height  of  three 
to  four  hundred  feet.  It  was  somewhat  inconstant,  at  one  time 
being  very  high  and  narrow  at  the  top,  and  then  quite  broad  with 
a  less  altitude.  Two  sketches  show  the  conditions  as  seen  first 
Feb.  6th  and  7th,  and  then  on  the  loth.  Plate  i6B.  The 
two  craters  on  the  last  date  were  about  eighty  rods  apart,  sending 
up  gas  and  steam  with  appearances  of  flame.  The  noise  was  like 
that  of  an  ascending  rocket,  and  occasionally  like  discharges  of 
artillery.  These  two  craters  were  half  a  mile  above  the  place 
where  the  lava  stream  commenced,  continuing  in  a  winding  river 
of  light  for  several  miles  and  then  dividing  into  a  network  of 
branches. 

Alexander  says :  "The  two  principal  cones  are  about  a  quarter 
of  a  mile  apart,  the  upper  one  bearing  S.  E.  from  the  other.  They 
are  about  one  hundred  and  fifty  feet  high  and  are  composed  en- 
tirely of  pumice  and  small  fragments  of  lava  which  were  thrown 
out  in  a  liquid  state.  The  upper  cone  was  a  closed  crater,  en- 
closing two  red-hot  vent  holes  or  furnaces,  several  feet  in  diame- 
ter, from  which  it  was  emitting  steam  and  sulphurous  gas,  and 
now  and  then  showers  of  light  pumice.  The  suffocating  gases 
rendered  it  impossible  to  approach  it  except  on  the  windward  side. 
The  lower  crater  from  which  the  great  jet  had  been  playing  two 
days  before  was  somewhat  larger,  and  a  great  gap  was  left  open 
on  the  lower  side  through  which  a  torrent  of  lava  had  flowed 
down  the  slope.  We  found  a  third  crater  above  the  two  we  have 
mentioned,  which  was  still  smoking;  and  in  fact  we  could  trace 


102 

a  line  of  fresh  lava  and  scoria  cones  two  or  three  miles  further 
up  the  mountain." 

Mr.  W.  L.  Green  visited  the  source  of  this  eruption  about  the 
same  time.  When  camped  near  the  stream  he  heard  explosions 
all  night  long  like  heavy  cannon;  which  he  ascribed  to  an  ex- 
plosion under  a  stream  of  lava  of  highly  heated  compressed  air. 
Fifteen  miles  below  the  source  he  estimated  the  height  of  the  pillar 
of  cloud  by  day  and  of  fire  by  night  at  10,000  feet  and  the  width 
of  five  hundred  feet.  The  fountain  seemed  to  him  to  have  broken 
out  at  the  intersection  of  two  fissures,  one  leading  towards  the 
top  of  the  mountain  and  the  other  at  right  angles  to  it. 

A  year  later  Mr.  Green  visited  the  source  of  this  flow  and 
found  a  small  cone,  which  was  the  mouth  of  a  chimney,  eighteen 
to  twenty-eight  feet  wide  and  of  unknown  great  depth.  The 
stream  below  was  compared  to  a  hollow  pie — the  contents  had 
disappeared  leaving  only  a  broken  down  crust. 

On  the  morning  of  Feb.  loth  the  Oahu  party  visited  the  be- 
ginning of  the  flow  for  the  last  time.  The  lava  rushed  out  of 
the  subterranean  passage  with  great  velocity,  at  a  white  heat  and 
as  thin  as  water.  Masses  of  lava  were  thrown  up  from  ten 
to  fifty  feet  into  the  air  which  cooled  in  falling.  Three  hours 
later  the  pool  had  become  a  fountain  playing  to  the  height  of 
thirty  feet.  Plate  i6B.  Pieces  of  the  lava  ascended  as  much 
as  one  hundred  and  eighty  feet  and  cooled  as  they  fell.  Gases 
were  escaping  at  two  other  points.  The  crater  was  ten  feet 
high.  This  jet  had  been  discharging  for  fifteen  days. 

Concerning  the  stream  below,  Alexander  writes :  "It  was  for- 
tunately a  clear  day  on  the  mountain,  and  a  strong  wind  was 
blowing  from  the  southwest,  so  that  we  traveled  for  three  or  four 
hours  along  the  very  brink  of  the  stream  without  inconvenience. 
It  had  worn  for  itself  a  deep,  well  defined  channel,  so  that  there 
was  no  danger  of  any  sudden  change  in  its  course.  The  canal 
in  which  it  ran  varied  from  twenty  to  fifty  feet  in  width  and  was 
ten  to  fifteen  feet  deep.  But  the  stream  was  in  reality  much 
wider  than  this,  for  the  banks  on  either  side  were  undermined 
to  a  considerable  distance.  Often  we  met  with  openings  in  the 
crust,  through  which  we  could  see  the  rushing  torrent  a  few 
feet,  or  even  inches,  below  our  feet.  *  *  *  We  saw  actual 
waves  and  actual  spray  of  liquid  lava.  As  its  surges  rolled  back 
from  the  enclosing  walls  of  rock,  they  curled  over  and  broke  like 
combers  on  the  reef.  Its  forms,  however,  were  bolder  and  more 
picturesque  than  those  of  running  water,  on  account  of  its  being 
a  heavier  and  more  tenacious  fluid.  There  was  besides  an  end- 
less variety  in  its  forms.  Now  passed  a  cascade,  then  a  whirl- 


io3 

pool,  then  a  smooth  majestic  river,  then  a  series  of  rapids,  toss- 
ing their  waves  like  a  stormy  sea ;  now  rolling  into  lurid  caverns, 
the  roofs  of  which  were  hung  with  red-hot  stalactites,  and  then 
under  arches  which  it  had  thrown  over  itself  in  sportive  triumph. 
The  safety  with  which  it  could  be  approached  was  a  matter  of 
astonishment  to  us  all.  *  *  * 

"As  the  descent  became  more  gradual  (eight  or  ten  miles  down) 
the  torrent  changed  its  color,  first  to  rose  color,  then  to  a  dark 
blood  red ;  its  surface  began  to  gather  a  grayish  scum,  and  large 
drifting  masses  became  frequent.  It  now  began  to  separate  with 
numerous  branches,  and  it  became  more  unsafe  to  follow  the  cen- 
tral stream,  as  changes  were  constantly  taking  place,  and  our 
retreat  was  liable  to  be  cut  off  at  any  moment.  *  *  * 

"We  had  been  particularly  anxious  to  see  how  clinkers  are 
formed,  and  our  curiosity  was  now  gratified.  The  difference  be- 
tween pahoehoe,  or  smooth  lava,  and  aa,  or  clinkers,  seems  to  be 
due  more  to  a  difference  in  their  mode  of  cooling  than  to  any 
other  cause.  The  streams  which  form  the  pahoehoe  are  com- 
paratively shallow,  in  a  state  of  complete  fusion,  and  cool  sud- 
denly in  a  mass.  The  aa  streams,  on  the  other  hand,  are  deep, 
sometimes  moving  along  in  a  mass  twenty  feet  high,  with  solid 
walls ;  they  are  less  fluid,  being  full  of  solid  points,  or  centers  of 
cooling,  as  they  may  be  called,  and  advance  very  slowly.  That  is, 
in  cooling,  the  aa  stream  grains  like  sugar.  At  a  distance  it  looks 
like  an  immense  mass  of  half  red-hot  cinders  and  slag  from  a 
foundry,  rolling  along  over  and  over  itself,  impelled  by  an  irre- 
sistible power  from  behind  and  beneath.  That  power  is  the  liquid 
stream,  almost  concealed  by  the  pile  of  cinders  which  have  been 
formed  from  itself  in  cooling." 

Under  date  of  June  22d,  Professor  Haskell  writes,  after  a 
visit  to  the  source  of  the  '59  flow,  that  the  stream  was  much 
smaller  than  in  February;  it  is  entirely  subterranean  for  twenty- 
five  or  thirty  miles,  though  a  few  holes  exist  where  the  lava 
can  be  seen.  He  climbed  to  Mokuaweoweo  where  no  per- 
ceptible action  was  noted. 

Mr.  W.  L.  Green  observed  the  entrance  of  the  lava  into  the 
sea,  both  in  January  and  several  months  later:  "The  red  hot 
lava  was  quietly  tumbling  into  the  sea  over  a  low  ledge,  per- 
haps six  or  eight  feet  high,  and  five  hundred  to  six  hundred  feet 
long.  The  lava  did  not  seem  to  be  quite  so  liquid,  or  of  such 
a  bright  color  as  it  did  when  it  ran  out  of  openings  in  the  side 
walls  of  the  aa  stream  upon  the  mountain  some  months  before. 
It  ran  more  like  porridge  in  great  flattened  spheroids,  which 
were  sometimes  partially  united  together,  and  sometimes  al- 


IO4 

most  separate.  The  cooling  was  to  be  expected  after  its  long 
journey  down  the  mountain.  There  was  no  steam  to  be  seen 
escaping  from  the  lava,  and  it  was  not  until  after  each  sphe- 
roidal mass  had  disappeared  for  a  second  or  two  under  water 
that  puffs  of  steam  came  to  the  surface.  The  general  effect, 
however,  was  an  apparent  steady  rise  of  steam  along  the  whole 
line.  It  was  a  cataract  of  molten  stone." 

Mr,  Green  remarked  that  this  tendency  to  form  spheroids 
in  the  molten  state  might  have  some  connection  with  the.  origin 
of  basaltic  columns,  as  well  as  to  weathered  spheroidal  masses 
seen  in  ancient  lava  streams,  developed  through  decomposition 
and  exhibiting  concentric  coats.  He  allows  that  there  was 
nothing  like  compression:  the  great  flattened  spheroids  rolled 
quietly  over  into  the  sea,  causing  a  slight  commotion  in  the 
water.  The  boat  was  pulled  very  near  the  boiling  mass,  and 
was  set  rapidly  outward,  because  of  the  rise  of  water  from 
below.  The  origin  of  the  concentric  structure  is,  however,  quite 
likely  to  be  explained  by  the  production  of  these  spheroids. 

In  1864  Professor  Brigham  walked  over  more  than  eight 
miles  of  the  upper  part  of  the  1859  fl°w  m  an  ascent  of  Mauna 
Loa,  The  surface  was  black,  shining  and  quite  brittle.  In 
some  places  the  lava  had  flowed  up  hill.  Bubbles  of  great 
size  were  common,  some  of  them  broken  in.  Immense  beds  of 
aa  with  nearly  vertical  sides  and  extremely  rough  fragments 
crossed  the  flow  in  various  directions,  being  always  level  on 
the  top. 

Mokuaweoweo  varied  scarcely  from  the  conditions  described 
by  Wilkes.  It  was  visited  August  5th,  and  is  alluded  to  later. 

According  to  the  record  book,  Messrs.  J.  L.  Wisley,  Charles 
Hall  and  M.  Worman  ascended  to  Mokuaweoweo  in  1865. 
They  went  up  on  the  north  side  past  the  source  of  the  1859 
flow.  The  summit  pit  was  said  to  be  shaped  like  the  figure  8. 
They  descended  to  the  bottom,  finding  two  steam  holes  upon 
the  west  side.  There  was  a  line  of  openings  or  gashes  up  the 
mountain  along  the  line  of  the  1859  flow,  as  well  as  pumice 
and  sand  at  the  point  of  outburst. 

In  1865  light  was  seen  at  the  summit  of  Mauna  Loa,  De- 
cember 3Oth,  and  continued  for  four  months,  with  variations  in 
its  intensity.  No  one  ascended  to  the  summit  and  there  is  no 
record  of  any  outflow  of  lava  anyhere  upon  the  side  of  the 
mountain. 

THE   GREAT  ERUPTION  OF  1868. 

This  eruption  had  two  peculiarities:  I,  it  was  preceded  by 
numerous  and  violent  earthquakes ;  2,  the  place  of  principal  emer- 


gence  of  the  lava  was  low  down  the  mountain,  10,000  feet  be- 
low the  summit.  The  flows  previously  described  came  from 
small  orifices  10-12,000  feet  above  the  sea,  and  it  took  the  lava 
a  long  time  to  discharge.  The  one  low  down  discharged  in 
three  or  four  days  out  of  a  long  rent  in  the  rock  as  much  ma- 
terial as  came  from  the  higher  openings  for  many  months. 
The  nature  of  the  eruption  was  not  understood  at  first,  because 
it  was  so  different  from  what  had  been  previously  observed 
from  either  Mokuaweoweo  or  Kilauea;  save  that  it  is  now 
seen  to  have  been  like  the  discharge  from  Kilauea  in  1840  near 
Nanawili.  The  chief  observers  were  Messrs.  T.  Coan,  H,  M. 
Whitney,  Dr.  William  Hillebrand,  F.  S.  Lyman  and  other  resi- 
dents of  the  disturbed  district. 

On  March  27,  Friday,  there  were  slight  earthquake  shocks 
in  Kau  and  Kona.  The  following  day  they  extended  easterly 
to  Hilo  and  northwesterly  through  Kona.  On  the  27th,  fire 
and  smoke  were  observed  at  the  summit  from  Kawaiahae  and 
Kealakekua,  and  from  Hilo  the  day  following.  From  Kau 
the  report  came  that  the  first  outbreak  appeared  on  the  south- 
west side  of  the  summit,  followed  later  by  others  on  the  same 
side;  and  soon  there  were  four  streams  pouring  down  the  moun- 
tain. By  the  3Oth,  the  line  of  smoke  advanced  fifteen  miles 
towards  the  south  cape.  No  light  was  seen  at  the  summit  from 
Hilo  after  the  28th. 

The  earthquakes  now  began  to  be  noticeable.  Rev.  C.  G. 
Williamson  in  South  Kona  recorded  seventy-six  shocks  be- 
tween April  first  and  tenth.  In  Kau  there  were  certainly  300 
at  the  same  time;  and  the  current  statement  is  that  the  total 
number  arose  to  2,000.  The  culminating  shock  was  at  3:40 
P.  M.  April  2d.  Walls  were  universally  thrown  down,  houses 
moved  or  overturned.  I  saw  one  house  (in  1883)  still  showing 
the  amount  of  the  throw  to  have  been  eight  inches.  The  focus 
of  the  shock  was  thought  to  be  at  Keaiwa  and  is  thus  described 
by  F.  S.  Lyman:  "First  the  earth  swayed  to  and  fro  north 
and  south;  then  east  and  west,  round  and  round;  then  up  and 
down  and  in  every  imaginable  direction  for  several  minutes ; 
everything  crashing  around  us;  the  trees  thrashing  about  as  if 
torn  by  a  rushing  mighty  wind.  It  was  impossible  to  stand; 
we  had  to  sit  on  the  ground,  bracing  with  hands  and  feet  to 
keep  from  rolling  over."  At  this  moment  there  occurred  the 
"mudflow",  a  slide  where  earth,  trees  houses,  cattle,  horses,  goats 
and  men  were  swallowed  up  and  rocks  thrown  high  into  the 
air.  At  Waiohinu,  ten  miles  to  the  S.W.,  a  stone  church  was 
leveled  to  the  ground  and  most  of  the  other  buildings  were  de- 
stroyed. Near  this  point  there  was  a  lateral  shift  of  about 


io6 

eighteen  feet,  extending  along  a  fault  line.     The  ground  moved 
just  about  the  width  of  the  road  makai. 

The  shocks  were  felt  at  a  distance  of  three  hundred  miles  to  the 
N.  W.,  or  to  Kauai,  and  on  all  the  intervening  islands.  Three  kinds 
were  noticed:  (i)  the  undulating,  with  a  motion  from  N.  W.  to 
S.  E.;  (2)  a  sudden,  short,  sharp  jerking  shock  occupying  barely 
two  seconds;  (3)  a  thumping,  like  a  cannon  ball  striking  the 
floor  beneath  you  and  then  rolling  away.  Rattling  noises  ac* 
companied  all  three  of  these  shocks.  There  was  a  motion  to 
the  N.  E.  at  Hilo,  well  shown  in  upright  cases  in  Mr.  Coan's 
study.  Books  were  thrown  down  from  cases  facing  the  south- 
west; while  cases  filled  with  minerals  and  facing  to  the  north- 
west were  undisturbed. 

Concerning  the  "mudflow"  Mr.  Coan  writes  that  it  was  a 
true  land  slide.  "I  went  entirely  around  it,  and  crossed  it  at 
its  head  and  center,  measuring  its  length  and  breadth,  which 
I  found  were  severally  three  miles  long  and  a  half  mile  wide. 
The  breadth  at  the  head  is  about  mile,  and  the  ground  on 
the  side  hill,  where  the  cleavage  took  place,  is  now  a  bold 
precipice  60  feet  high.  Below  this  line  of  fracture  the  super- 
strata of  the  earth,  consisting  of  soil,  rocks,  lavas,  boulders, 
trees,  roots,  ferns  and  all  tropical  jungle,  and  water,  slid  or 
rolled  down  an  incline  of  some  twenty  degrees,  until  the  im- 
mense masses  came  to  the  brow  of  a  precipice  near  a  thousand 
feet  high,  and  here  all  plunged  down  an  incline  of  40°  to  70° 
to  the  cultivated  and  inhabited  plains  below.  The  momentum 
acquired  by  this  terrific  slide  was  so  great  that  the  mass  was  forced 
over  the  plain,  and  even  up  an  angle  of  one  and  a  half  degrees, 
at  the  rate  of  more  than  a  mile  a  minute.  In  its  course  it  swept 
along  enormous  trees  and  rocks  from  the  size  of  a  pebble  to 
those  weighing  many  tons.  Immense  blocks  of  lava  were  un- 
covered by  the  slide.  The  depth  of  the  deposit  on  the  grass 
plains  may  average  six  feet;  in  depressions  at  the  foot  of  the 
precipice  it  may  be  thirty  or  even  forty  feet." 

The  earthquake  wave  and  its  effects  are  thus  described  by 
Mr.  Fornander:  "At  Punaluu  (p.  297  of  Green)  at  the  mo- 
ment of  the  shock,  it  seemed  as  if  an  immense  quantity  of  lava 
had  been  discharged  into  the  sea  some  distance  from  the  shore, 
for  almost  immediately  a  terrible  commotion  arose,  the  water 
boiling  and  tossing  furiously.  Shortly  afterwards,  a  tremend- 
ous wave  was  sweeping  up  on  the  shore,  and  when  it  receded, 
there  was  nothing  left  of  Punaluu!  Every  house,  the  big- 
stone  church,  even  the  cocoanut  trees  —  all  but  two  —  were 
washed  away.  The  number  of  lives  lost  is  not  yet  ascertained. 
All  who  were  out  fishing  at  the  time  perished,  and  many  or 


those  ashore.  A  big  chasm  opened,  running-  from  the  sea  up 
mto  the  mountain,  down  which  it  is  said  lava,  mud,  trees,  ferns 
and  rocks  were  rushing  out  into  the  sea.  The  same  wave  that 
washed  away  Punaluu,  also  destroyed  the  villages  of  Ninole, 
Kawaa,  and  Honuapo.  Not  a  house  remains  to  mark  the  site 
of  these  pfaces,  except  at  Honuapo,  where  a  small  'hale  hala- 
wai'  on  the  brow  of  the  hill,  above  the  village,  stood  on  Friday 
last.  The  larger  cocoanut  grove  at  Honuapo  was  washed  away, 
as  well  as  that  at  Punaluu.  A  part  of  the  big  pali  at  Honuapo, 
on  the  road  to  Waiohinu,  had  tumbled  into  the  sea,  and  people 
coming  from  thence  are  now  obliged  to  take  the  mountain 
road  through  Hilea-uka." 

H.  M.  Whitney  says  this  wave  rolled  in  over  the  tops  of  the 
cocoanut  trees  at  Punaluu,  probably  sixty  feet  high,  driving  float- 
ing rubbish  inland  about  a  quarter  of  a  mile,  and  bringing  back 
everything  moveable.  The  same  wave  washed  in  many  large 
boulders  at  Pohoiki. 

Professor  Brigham  summed  up  the  losses  as  follows:  Num- 
ber of  houses  destroyed  by  land  slide,  ten;  by  the  sea  wave,  one 
hundred  and  eight;  deaths  by  the  land  slide,  thirty-one;  by  sea 
wave,  forty-six.  Number  of  houses  destroyed  by  earthquake, 
forty-six;  by  lava  stream  thirty-seven.  Total  houses  destroyed, 
two  hundred  and  one;;  total  deaths,  seventy-seven. 

The  first  stage  in  the  eruptions  about  Kahuku  occurred  in 
the  night  of  April  6th.  There  was  a  shower  of  ashes  and 
pumice,  covering'  the  country  ten  or  fifteen  miles  upon  each 
side.  These  covered  the  ground  for  ten  inches  generally,  but 
sometimes  fifteen.  Pieces  of  the  pumice  two  or  three  inches 
wide  floated  forty-five  miles  up  the  Kona  coast.  On  the  morn- 
ing of  April  7th  a  lava  stream  originated  some  ten  miles  up  the 
mountain,  and  was  crossed  by  Mr.  H.  M.  Whitney  on  the 
north  side  of  the  later  eruption.  He  speaks  of  it  as  pahoehoe 
in  a  valley  five  hundred  feet  wide.  It  had  ceased  flowing  in 
three  days'  time  so  that  people  could  walk  over  it. 

In  the  afternoon  of  April  7th,  the  principal  eruption  com- 
menced, as  a  discharge  from  a  crevice  about  three  miles  long 
and  above  the  Kahuku  Ranch.  The  inmates  of  Captain 
Brown's  house  saw  the  fiery  stream  making  apparently  for  the 
house  and  they  were  not  slow  in  vacating  the  premises,  gfv'ng 
towards  Waiohinu.  Mr,  H.  M.  Whitney  was  able  to  witress 
a  part  of  this  flow  from  a  small  hill  westward  on  April  loth. 
He  says,  "On  ascending  the  ridge  we  found  the  eruption  in 
full  blast.  Four  enormous  fountains,  apparently  distinct  from 
each  other,  and  yet  forming  a  line  a  mile  long  north  and  south, 
were  continually  spouting  up  from  the  opening.  These  jets 


io8 

were  blood-red  and  yet  as  fluid  as  water,  ever  varyirg  in  size, 
bulk  and  height.  Sometimes  two  would  join  together,  and 
again  the  whole  four  would  be  united,  making  one  continuous 
fountain  a  mile  in  length."  This  liquid  descended  the  slope 
to  the  grounds  about  the  ranch,  then  took  the  Government 
road,  ran  down  the  precipice  and  folk  w  'd  it  to  the  sea,  a 
"rapid  stream  of  red  lava,  rolling,  rushing  and  tumbling  like 
a  swollen  river,  and  bearing  along  in  its  current  large  rocks 
that  almost  made  the  lava  foam."  It  was  from  two  hundred 
to  eight  hundred  feet  wide,  twenty  feet  deep  and  had  a  velocity 
of  from  ten  to  twenty-five  miles  an  hour.  The  fountains  v<  re 
believed  to  have  reached  an  altitude  of  five  hundred  to  six  hun- 
dred feet  and  to  have  thrown  up  also  stones  weighing  one 
hundred  tons.  The  ascending  lava  had  a  rotary  motion  to- 
wards the  south.  The  stream  reached  the  sea  at  one  point  and 
did  not  flow  after  the  I2th  inst.,  the  life  of  the  river  thus  lasting 
only  five  days.  The  pahoehoe  of  the  early  flow  was  succeeded 
by  aa  which  covered  4,000  acres  of  good  pasture  land  besides 
much  that  was  of  no  value.  This  aa  branched  out  into  four 
wide  streams,  covering  a  space  estimated  at  four  miles  w.-de 
and  long.  The  final  flow  was  of  the  original  pahoehoe. 

Dr,  Hillebrand  visited  the  ground  April  23d.  He  found 
that  the  lava  issued  from  a  fissure  extending  about  three  miles 
from  Captain  Brown's  house  in  the  direction  N.  6°  E.  up  the 
mountain  to  a  height  of  2,800  feet.  It  gushed  out  in  waves 
parallel  to  its  course  which  assumed  a  direction  at  right  angles 
to  it  in  the  middle  of  the  stream.  The  edges  are  somewhat 
raised  above  the  middle,  and  much  scoria  is  present,  at  one  place 
a  small  cone  of  scoria  about  twelve  feet  high  and  of  equal 
diameter  bridging  the  chasm.  The  issuance  of  hot  gases  from 
it  prevented  a  close  scrutiny.  Near  the  upper  end  of  the  chasm 
the  Doctor  was  surprised  at  the  sudden  apparition  of  a  cataract 
of  lava  pouring  down  an  incline  of  some  three  hundred  teet. 
The  trees  and  fern  stalks  were  encircled  and  capped  by  kva. 
The  extreme  point  visited  was  simply  a  crevice;  there  was 
nothing  of  the  nature  of  a  cone  of  lapilli  as  was  the  case  at 
the  beginnings  of  the  later  flows  above  Puu  Ulaula. 

The  land  runs  to  a  point  at  the  extreme  south  end  of  Ha- 
waii, sometimes  called  Ka  Lae  and  sometimes  South  Cape.  The 
triangular  area — perhaps  nine  miles  long — from  the  ranch  house 
to  the  sea,  is  bordered  on  the  west  side  by  a  precipice  or  pali, 
suggesting  that  it  lies  along  the  line  of  a  fracture.  This  im- 
pression is  heightened  by  the  fact  that  this  line  coincides  with 
and  adjoins  the  rent  of  three  miles  out  of  which  the  lava  was 
protruded.  The  precipice  was  known  locally  as  the  "Pali  of 


109 

Mamalu."  Mr.  Whitney  seems  to  have  observed  the  coinci- 
dence in  the  direction  of  this  pali  and  the  vent  of  the  eruption 
pointing  up  the  mountain.  So  did  Mr,  Coan.  In  1886  I 
visited  this  locality  and  called  attention  to  this  feature  in  a 
letter  to  Professor  Dana,  published  in  his  "Characteristics  of 
Volcanoes."  "The  fissure  whence  the  lavas  of  1868  flowed  is 
the  exact  continuation  of  the  pali  up  the  mountan.  I  traced 
it  fully  three  miles.  For  much  of  the  way  it  makes  a  narrow 
canyon  forty  to  fifty  feet  wide  at  the  maximum,  and  so  deep 
that  it  is  dangerous  to  explore  it.  In  the  lower  part  heat  was 
still  evident.  The  fissure  is  most  prominent  where  the  lava  is 
in  greatest  amount.  Its  borders  have  the  smoothed  appear- 
ance that  would  result  from  an  outflow  of  lava  over  its  edge." 
I  have  sometimes  compared  the  conditions  attendant  upon  this 
flow  with  the  splitting  of  a  log  of  wood.  The  first  blow  of  the 
axe  splits  the  log  a  short  distance  from  the  end.  A  wedge  in- 
serted in  the  split  exerts  a  little  pressure,  but  not  enough  to 
continue  the  enlargement  till  another  blow  has  been  struck 
by  the  beetle.  A  continuance  of  the  blows  will  eventually 
split  the  log  from  end  to  end. 

Applied  to  the  rent  at  the  base  of  the  mountain,  it  may  be 
said  that  the  early  developments  of  the  force  were  along  the 
edge  of  the  pali.  Ages  ago  the  triangular  tract  of  the  South 
Cape  witnessed  an  elevation  after  the  formation  of  the  fissure 
had  given  freedom  of  movement  to  the  land.  There  was  quite 
sn  oasis  of  rich  pasture  and  sugar  land  raised  so  much  as  to 
lie  above  the  reach  of  later  lava  flows.  Hence  when  the  blow 
was  struck  later  in  1868  the  rent  was  developed  for  three  miles 
up  the  mountain,  and  the  lava  streams  flowed  about  the  oasis 
upon  which  the  buildings  were  located.  To  what  extent  this 
fault  can  be  traced  up  the  mountain  is  unknown,  though  au- 
thors speak  assuredly  of  a  rent  from  the  end  of  the  cape  to 
the  summit  of  Mauna  Loa.  It  is  interesting,  however,  to  note 
that  the  later  corresponding  eruption  of  1887  followed  a  parallel 
line  of  fault  several  miles  farther  west. 

In  the  fissure  where  a  little  heat  was  discernible  in  1887  there 
was  seen  much  stalagmitic  material  containing  many  crystals 
of  olivine.  It  must  have  been  a  sort  of  mud,  and  as  elsewhere 
it  and  the  green  mineral  came  from  below  in  the  solid  con- 
dition. The  basalt  at  Kahuku  is  unusually  rich  in  this  mineral. 
With  this  pasty  mass  there  is  much  clinker  and  specimens  of 
these  materials  were  obtained  very  plentifully  from  this  chasm. 
This  rock  assemblage  is  like  that  exuded  on  the  border  of 
Kilauea-iki  at  the  same  date,  as  is  mentioned  later.  This  may 
be  an  important  fact  in  the  discussion  of  the  relations  of  the 


no 

two  great  calderas:  because  this  peculiar  substance  was  dis- 
charged in  these  two  localities  at  the  same  date.  It  was  not 
restricted,  however,  to  this  particular  date. 

Mr.  Coan  visited  Kahuku  and  the  country  adjacent  in  Au- 
gust, 1868,  and  has  described  with  great  accuracy  the  features 
of  this  cataclysm,  as  well  as  the  disastrous  land  slide  and  sea 
wave.  He  climbed  to  the  upper  end  of  the  rent,  and  observed 
the  orifices  from  whence  jets  had  been  thrown  hundreds  of 
feet  into  the  air  and  left  behind  many  ridges  and  ragged  cones 
of  every  contour.  With  partial  measurements  he  estimated  the 
width  of  the  principal  flow  at  one  and  one-half  miles.  By  unit- 
ing all  the  branches  with  the  main  trunk  the  area  discharged 
would  be  one  and  a  half  miles  wide,  ten  miles  long  and  fifteen 
feet  deep.  The  course  of  the  flow  was  due  south,  and  its  con- 
tinuance four  days.  The  amount  of  matter  discharged  is  small 
compared  with  that  of  1855. 

Mr.  Coan  adopted  the  opinion  of  Judge  David  Hitchcock 
that  the  Kahuku  flow  came  from  Kilauea  instead  of  Mauna  Loa, 
at  least  in  part.  Coming  from  an  authority  second  to  none 
among  the  island  observers,  many  of  the  residents  accepted 
this  deduction;  and  as  the  result  much  discussion  ensued.  Even 
upon  the  map  of  the  islands  published  by  the  Government  in 
1876,  under  the  direction  of  Professor  W.  D.  Alexander,  this 
flow  is  said  to  be  "from  Kilauea,"  with  an  interrogation  point. 

Rev.  E.  P.  Baker,  the  successor  of  Mr.  Coan  in  pastoral 
duties  at  Hilo,  has  well  summed  up  the  main  points  upon  both 
sides  of  this  controversy  in  the  Hawaiian  Gazette  for  August 
29,  1883.  For  the  Kilauea  derivation,  three  reasons  may  be 
given:  (i)  At  the  time  of  the  1868  eruption  the  liquid  fire  all 
ran  out  of  Kilauea.  (2)  The  earthquakes  as  reported  were 
more  severe  at  Kahuku,  where  the  lavas  finally  found  vent, 
than  in  Kau,  (3)  The  steam  vents  and  fissures  below  Kilauea, 
the  land  slide  at  Kapapala  and  the  Kahuku  rent  are  on  a  direct 
line,  supposed  to  mark  the  subterranean  course  of  the  lava. 

Conceding  the  first  two  points,  the  other  party  explains  them 
by  saying  that  it  was  probably  the  terrible  shaking  of  the 
ground  that  caused  the  lava  in  Kilauea  to  recede  before  the 
time  of  its  normal  discharge,  and  that  the  efforts  of  the  moun- 
tain to  let  loose  the  lava  were  met  by  a  greater  power  of  re- 
sistance at  Kau  than  at  Kahuku.  As  to  the  third  point,  Kilauea 
and  the  steam  vents,  fissures  and  small  discharges  of  lava  at 
this  time,  are  on  a  line  different  from  that  of  the  land  slide 
and  Kahuku,  being  more  to  the  south,  The  land  slide  was 
an  accident  not  connected  with  any  flow  of  lava.  Kilauea  has 
its  own  field  of  operations  entirely  distinct  from  Mauna  Loa. 


Ill 

Two  other  features  are  brought  forward  by  the  advocates 
of  the  derivation  of  the  Kahuku  discharges  from  Mauna  Loa. 
(i)  The  initial  point  of  the  Kahuku  flow  is  from  two  hundred 
to  six  hundred  feet  higher  than  the  level  of  the  lakes  in  Ki- 
lauea.  If  hydrostatic  pressure  is  concerned  in  the  dis- 
charges, this  stream  could  not  emerge  from  a  point  hundreds 
of  feet  higher  than  its  sources.  (2)  There  is  ample  evidence 
of  the  locality  of  the  1868  discharge  from  Kilauea,  given  upon 
the  authority  of  Mr.  Richardson  of  Kapapala.  Several  acres 
of  lava  came  to  the  surface  at  the  time  of  this  discharge,  located 
quite  near  the  ejection  of  volcanic  matter  mentioned  by  Ellis 
in  1823,  and  other  larger  ones  have  been  identified  by  E,  D. 
Baldwin. 

In  addition  to  the  data  brought  forward  by  Mr.  Baker,  sub- 
sequent history  substantiates  his  view.  There  have  been  two 
other  Kahuku  discharges,  (in  1887  and  1907),  preceded  by 
earthquakes,  attended  by  similar  outpours  and  closely  adjacent 
to  the  earlier  flow, 

January  10,  1870,  D.  H.  Hitchcock,  in  company  with  Dr. 
Hans  Beraz  and  Lord  Charles  Hervey,  ascended  to  Mokuaweo- 
weo  by  the  way  of  Kapapala.  Steam  issued  from  the  banks  and 
floor.  There  were  no  indications  of  recent  flows.  They  rode 
to  the  summit;  the  first  time  this  feat  had  been  accomplished. 

June  22,  1870,  L.  Severance,  J.  D.  Brown  and  S.  L.  Aus- 
tin reported  similar  conditions  at  the  summit. 

MOKTJAWEOWEO  BETWEEN  1868  AND  1880. 

August  10,  1872,  heralded  the  beginning  of  a  remarkable 
display  of  lava  within  the  pit  of  Mokuaweoweo  lasting  for 
eighteen  months,  and  no  one  has  reported  any  discharge  of 
lava  connected  with  it  over  any  part  of  the  mountain  or  beneath 
the  sea.  Mr.  Coan  saw  a  lofty  pillar  of  light,  two  hundred  feet 
high,  probably  vapors  or  reflections  in  part,  being  sometimes  a  ver- 
tical pillar,  an  inverted  cone  and  an  open  umbrella.  Seventeen 
days  later  there  was  no  abatement  in  the  brilliancy.  Mr.  Coan 
wrote  that  "of  all  the  demonstrations  made  in  this  vast  caldron 
on  the  summit  of  the  mountain  since  our  residence  in  Hilo, 
none  have  equaled  this  in  magnitude,  in  vehemence  and  in  du- 
ration." 

August  27th  there  was  a  small  earthquake  wave  at  Hilo,  the 
water  rising  during  a  calm  four  feet,  and  in  a  second  wave,  six 
minutes  later,  three  feet,  and  diminishing  for  about  fourteen 
oscillations.  No  one  can  say  with  certainty  that  this  tidal  dis- 
turbance had  any  connection  with  either  of  the  volcanoes.  J. 


112 

M.  Lydgate  reported  the  existence  of  a  fountain  of  fire  in  the 
crater  in  the  latter  part  of  August.  September  21  the  Hawaiian 
Gazette  described  the  same  more  particularly — the  fountain 
was  in  the  southwest  part  of  the  pit,  seventy-five  feet  in  diam- 
ter  and  five  hundred  in  altitude;  it  was  in  a  basin  covering  one- 
third  of  the  lower  platform,  upon  which  a  low  cone  formed. 
It  was  "a  mighty  fountain  of  clear  molten  lava." 

Dr.  Samuel  Kneeland  gives  the  notes  of  observations  made 
upon  Mauna  Loa  in  connection  with  its  discharges,  commenc- 
ing August  9th,  i872.21  The  names  of  the  observers  were  W. 
T.  Conway,  H.  C.  Dimond,  G,  M.  Curtis  and  H.  N.  Palmer. 
The  location  of  the  jet  is  not  clear,  save  that  the  barometer 
gave  it  as  14,000  feet,  and  it  would  seem  to  have  been  near  the 
precipice  on  the  east  wall.  From  the  center  of  a  small  cone 
with  an  apparent  diameter  of  two  hundred  feet,  sprang  a  jet 
of  molten  lava  not  less  than  three  hundred  feet  high  and  about 
one  hundred  feet  in  diameter.  There  was  an  opening  on  the 
northeast  side  of  the  cone,  from  which  flowed  a  river  of  lava, 
which  gradually  widened  into  a  broad  lake,  and  from  the  other 
end  of  the  lake  took  its  course  along  the  base  of  the  precipice 
which  separates  the  north  from  the  south  side  of  the  crater. 
The  fiery  fountain  was  the  principal  feature;  its  roar  was  not 
unlike  that  of  Niagara,  but  without  the  concussion  and  irreg- 
ular booming  sound  of  the  great  cataract.  It  is  hard  to  con- 
ceive the  energy  of  the  forces  which  could  keep  this  heavy 
molten  column  in  perpetual  suspension  so  many  hundred  feet 
high  for  several  weeks. 

September  4.  Fountain  of  lava  started  August  9  was  one  hun- 
dred and  fifty  feet  high  in  the  middle  part.  Continuous  all  night. 

September  8.  Party  of  thirteen  men  and  a  guide  confirm 
the  report  of  September  4.  The  fountain  was  towards  the  west 
wall  in  the  same  place  where  it  has  been  commonly  seen. 

On  January  6th,  1873,  the  action  at  the  summit  was  "mar- 
vellously brilliant"  as  seen  from  Hilo,  apparently  that  of  2 
fountain.  The  herdmen  at  Ainapo  represented  that  the  moun- 
tain was  "constantly  quivering  like  a  boiling  pot."  April  2Oth 
the  activity  was  again  discernible  from  Hilo  as  the  light  flashed 
upon  the  clouds.  Rev.  A.  F.  White  climbed  to  the  summit  May 
26th  and  saw  the  lava  rising  from  one  hundred  and  fifty  to  three 
hundred  feet.  On  the  6th  of  June  Miss  Isabella  L.  Bird  and  W. 
L.  Green  ascended  to  the  summit.  For  the  two  days 
previous  no  particular  action  was  obvious  because  of  the  re- 
flected fire,  and  they  were  fearful  of  being  disappointed.  When 


21  Volcanoes  and  Earthquakes  by  Dr.  Samuel  Kneeland. 


within  two  miles  of  the  crater  a  distant  vibrating  roar  wjas 
audible;  and  on  reaching  the  pit  the  roar  was  like  that  of  the 
ocean.  Most  of  the  floor  was  an  area  of  solid  black  lava,  but 
at  the  southwest  end  there  was  a  fountain  of  fire  one  hundred 
and  fifty  feet  broad  playing  in  several  united  but  independent 
jets  to  the  height  of  one  hundred  and  fifty  to  three  hundred 
feet.  Miss  Bird  writes:  "At  night  the  lake  was  for  the  most 
part  at  white  heat,  and  its  surface  was  agitated  with  waves  of 
white-hot  lava  about  the  fountain  at  the  center.  Through  the 
rest  of  the  vast  crater  the  projecting  ledges  were  thrown  into 
bold  relief  by  the  reflected  light,  and  by  numerous  dashes  and 
lines  of  fire  from  apertures  and  crevices.  Occasional  detona- 
tions were  heard,  but  no  shakings  except  the  tremors  from- 
the  throw  and  fall  of  the  lavas.  At  one  time  the  jets,  after 
long  playing  at  a  height  of  three  hundred  feet,  suddenly  be- 
came quite  low,  and  for  a  few  seconds  there  were  cones  of  fire 
wallowing  in  a  sea  of  light:  then,  with  a  roar  like  the  sound  of 
gathering  waters,  nearly  the  whole  surface  of  the  lake  wa». 
lifted  up,  by  the  action  of  some  powerful  internal  force,  and 
its  whole  radiant  mass  rose  three  times  in  one  glorious  upward 
burst,  to  a  height,  as  estimated  by  the  surrounding  cliffs,  of 
six  hundred  feet.  After  this  the  fountain  played  as  before.  In 
one  place  heavy  white  vapor  blew  off  powerful  jets  from  the 
edge  of  the  lake,  and  elsewhere  there  were  frequent  jets  and 
ebullitions  of  the  same;  but  there  was  not  a  trace  of  vapor  over 
the  burning  lake  itself." 

Mr.  Green,  who  was  with  Miss  Bird,  describes  the  same  scene 
as  follows,  having  watched  it  for  hours  with  a  binocular:  "The 
fountain  generally  played  to  a  height  of  from  three  hundred 
to  'four  hundred  feet,  as  estimated  from  the  known  depth  of 
the  crater,  although  some  spires  or  shoots  would  now  and  then 
rise  to  a  greater  altitude.  The  form  of  the  fountain  would  con- 
stantly vary,  sometimes  being  in  the  shape  of  a  low  rounded 
dome,  then  perhaps  forming  a  sort  of  spire  in  the  center,  with 
a  fountain  in  the  form  of  a  wheat  sheaf  on  each  side.  Some- 
times it  would  look  like  one  great  wheat  sheaf.  On  this  day 
the  visible  vapors  or  gas  connected  with  this  fountain  were 
quite  insignificant;  by  daylight  we  could  see  none,  but  at  night 
time  the  bright  reflection  from  the  molten  lava  made  visible  a 
light  blue  haze  which  quietly  left  it."  *  *  *  "There  were 
two  noises  which  were  very  easily  distinguishable;  one  was  the 
dull  roar  of  the  fall  of  this  fountain  of  heavy  liquid,  and  the 
other  was  the  metallic  clink  of  the  fall  of  the  solidified  lavas 
which  were  constantly  taken  up  by  this  fountain  and  thrown 
on  to  the  solid  rocks  at  a  little  distance  from  it.  Indeed,  these 


H4 

solid  pieces  and  separate  portions  of  the  molten  lava,  which 
cooled  in  the  air,  formed  a  light  falling  veil  over  the  dazzling 
lava  fountain,  and  as  it  fell  close  round  the  sides,  it  formed  a 
black,  level  scum  which  floated  on  the  lava-lake,  out  of  which 
the  fountain  arose.  Whenever  a  more  than  usually  solid  mass 
of  lava  fell  within  the  area  of  this  lake,  it  seemed  to'  force 
itself  through  the  black,  floating  scoriaceous  mass  and  make 
a  golden  splash  of  the  white-hot  lava  beneath  it.  *  *  *  Away 
from  the  fountain  white  fumes  arose  like  those  which  often 
appear  in  Kilauea." 

Mr.  Green  wrote  much  more  in  substantiation  of  his  belief 
that  the  fountain  was  simply  a  hydrostatic  effect  with  important 
accompanying  vapors. 

January  6,  1873,  Mr.  Coan  writes  that  for  nine  months  the 
action  had  not  ceased.  Its  duration  is  marvellous,  considering 
that  it  seems  to  be  confined  to  the  crater.  There  was  a  special 
brilliancy  to  it  in  January. 

June  24,  J.  M.  Lydgate  drew  a  plan  of  Mokuaweoweo,  shown 
in  Plate  176.  Its  greatest  length  is  17,000  feet,  or  15,000 
without  the  basin  at  the  northeast.  The  greatest  breadth  is 
8,600  feet;  greatest  depth  1,050  feet.  The  floor  is  continually 
rising  because  of  overflows.  The  lake  has  a  diameter  of  five 
hundred  feet. 

August  27th,  Dr.  O.  B.  Adams,  Surgeon  of  the  Costa  Rica, 
with  his  wife,  ascended  to  the  summit  and  found  a  column 
of  molten  lavaj  rising  from  two  hundred  to  five  hundred  feet 
in  height,  assuming  all  the  various  forms  of  a  grand  fountain 
of  water. 

September  3,  R.  Whitman  and  B.  F.  Dillingham  report  the 
jets  of  lava  spouting  up  a  hundred  feet. 

September  20,  W.  W.  Hall  says  the  floor  is  covered  by  lava 
that  was  poured  out  the  year  previous. 

October  6,  Mr.  Coan  says  the  action  has  continued  for 
eighteen  months,  and  most  of  the  time  it  has  been  violent;  but 
he  thinks  it  will  soon  cease.  There  have  been  few  earthquakes, 
and  those  feeble,  during  the  year.  Kilauea  has  been  unusually 
active  all  this  time. 

In  October  Messrs,  E.  G.  and  H.  R.  Hitchcock  reported 
similar  conditions.  The  fountain  played  to  the  height  of  six 
hundred  feet,  as  determined  by  lying  upon  the  brink  and  look- 
ing across  the  pit  to  the  top  of  the  opposite  wall,  estimating 
to  what  point  in  the  wall  the  top  of  the  column  was  opposite. 
The  descending  lava  flowed  off  northward  nearly  the  whole 
length  of  the  western  side  of  the  pit. 


Similar  eruptions  were  evident  in  1875-6,  Mr.  Green  men- 
tions the  occurrence  of  summit  action  January  loth,  lasting  for 
one  month.  He  regarded  these  fountains  in  1872,  1873,  1875  and 
1876  as  premonitory  of  the  great  outbreak  of  1877.  On  August 
nth,  1875,  Mr,  Coan  reported  the  summit  crater  as  again  in 
brilliant  action,  lasting  for  one  w-eek.  About  this  time  a  party 
from  the  Challenger  Expedition  reported  the  presence  of  a 
"globular  cloud"  on  the  summit,  which  was  "perpetually  re- 
formed by  condensation,"  and  had  a  brilliant  orange  glow  at 
night  looking  as  if  a  fire  were  raging  in  the  distance." 

It  is  reported  that  during  this  year  Mr.  George  Forbes  suc- 
ceeded in  finding  a  path  to  the  summit  without  passing  over 
any  aa. 

Another  grand  display  of  short  duration  was  reported  by  Mr. 
Coan  on  February  13,  1876. 

STJBMABINE  ERUPTION  IN  1877. 

On  the  I4th  of  February,  Mr.  Green  reported  that  from  a 
"great  vent  on  the  flat  top  of  the  mountain  there  burst  forth 
smoke  and  white-hot  molten  lavas"  which  lighted  up  the  whole 
Island  of  Hawaii  and  was  so  bright  on  Maui  as  to  cause  people 
to  believe  that  large  sugar  mills  were  on  fire,  which  happened 
to  be  between  them  and  Mauna  Loa.  Mr.  C.  J.  Lyons  being 
at  Waimea,  thirty  miles  north,  estimates  "that  the  smoke 
masses  were  ejected  to  a  height  of  not  less  than  16,000  feet 
above  the  top  of  the  mountain,  where  they  hung,  forming  a 
dense  stratum.  The  velocity  with  which  they  ascended  was 
such  that  the  first  5,000  feet  were  passed  inside  of  a  minute." 
Mr.  Coan  estimated  the  altitude  at  from  14,000  to  17,000  feet 
and  stated  that  this  brilliancy  lasted  for  only  ten  days.  On 
that  last  day  a  submarine  eruption  manifested  itself,  accom- 
panied by  an  earthquake,  a  mile  from  the  shore  off  Kealake- 
kua.  A  crevice  was  made  on  a  line  between  the  summit  and 
the  site  of  the  submarine  eruption,  extending  inland  for  three 
miles.  Rev.  J.  D.  Paris  has  stated  that  the  natives  reported 
fumes  of  sulphur  and  red-hot  lava  in  fissures  up  the  mountain 
side. 

This  eruption,  about  three  A.  M.,  February  24th,  displayed 
red,  blue  and  green  lights,  starting  in  very  deep  water,  at  what 
seemed  to  be  a  pali,  and  so  it  was  jat  the  intersection  of  two 
fissures  according  to  Mr.  Green.  Mr.  H.  M.  Whitney  says 
that  blocks  of  lava  two  feet  square  came  up  from  below,  fre- 
quently striking  and  jarring  the  boats.  The  pieces  were  soft, 
red-hot,  emitting  steam  and  sulphurous  gases.  As  soon  as  they 


n6 

became  cold  they  sank  out  of  sight.  Another  account  says 
that  some  of  the  blocks  were  hard,  as  evidenced  by  the  breaking 
off  of  a  large  piece  of  copper  from  one  of  the  boats.  About 
this  time  an  earthquake  wave  was  reported  by  Mr.  Coari  on 
the  Kona  coast.  The  coincidence  of  so  many  seismic  phe- 
nomena makes  it  probable  that  there  must  have  been  a  sub- 
marine discharge  which  relieved  the  pressure  exerted  by  the 
column  of  molten  lava  in  Mokuaweoweo. 

MOKUAWEOWEO  IN  1880- '81. 

Professor  W.  T.  Brigham  ascended  Mauna  Loa  from  Ainapo 
the  last  of  July,  about  three  months  before  the  celebrated  out- 
break of  i88o-'8i.  Fire  had  been  seen  in  South  Mokuaweoweo 
May  ist.  Ahuai,  the  guide  of  so  many  scientific  men  to  the 
summit,  reported  that  the  fire  at  that  time  was  a  fountain, 
which  rose  to  the  level  of  the  rim  of  the  pit,  so  that  it  was  seen 
by  him  as  he  was  lying  down  at  some  distance  away.  As  the 
pit  is  eight  hundred  feet  deep  this  jet  must  have  been  very 
notable.  Mr.  Goodale  confirms  this  statement  by  adding 
that  the  lavja  was  thrown  sixty  or  eighty  feet  above  the  brink 
of  the  crater,  where  he  was  standing.  On  the  same  day  flocks 
of  Pele's  hair  were  carried  from  the  summit  to  Hilo.  Mr.  Brig- 
ham  found  the  path  from  Ainapo  worse  than  the  one  he  took 
on  foot  on  the  opposite  side  of  the  mountain  in  1864,  because 
of  the  presence  of  numerous  fragments  of  scoria  from  one  to 
twenty  feet  in  bulk.  On  the  summit  there  were  abundant  deposits 
of  the  vesicular  lava  called  limu,  of  a  pale  green  color,  a  frozen 
froth.  He  found  little  change  in  the  general  aspect  of  Mokua- 
weoweo, save  in  the  tendency  of  the  lava  blocks  to  fall — as  they 
seemed  like  a  wall  of  loose  stones  laid  artificially.  In  1864  he 
had  seen  two  cones  in  the  bottom  of  the  main  pit  near  the 
eastern  wall  about  two  hundred  feet  high,  which  were  not  no- 
ticed by  Mr.  Luther  Severance  in  1870.  At  the  end  of  the  trail 
up  the  mountain  from  Ainapo,  Mr.  Severance  had  estimated 
the  depth  to  the  floor  at  one  hundred  and  twenty  feet.  On 
the  west  side  there  were  sulphur  beds. 

With  the  plan  of  Mr.  Lydgate  before  him,  Professor  Brigham 
states  that  the  changes  in  the  walls  were  insignificant, 
but  the  bottom  was  covered  by  fresh  lava.  He  could 
not  ascertain  the  source  of  this  lava,  but  suggested  that 
it  might  have  been  collected  from  inclined  lava  jets  from 
the  walls,  spouted  out  clear  of  the  crater.  As  considerable  heat 
was  manifested  from  the  cracks  on  the  sides  of  the  mountain, 
Mr.  Brigham  believed  that  a  great  eruption  was  on  the  way — 


as  was  demonstrated  on  the  5th  of  November  following.  Mr. 
H.  M.  Whitney,  writing  from  Kau,  May  12,  states  explicitly 
that  this  eruption  commenced  as  quietly  as  moonrise,  with- 
out any  premonitory  shakes  or  noises;  but  we  have  the  follow- 
ing from  W.  H.  Lentz,  in  the  record  book  of  the  Volcano 
House: 

May  i,  1880.  At  9  P.  M.  the  large  crater  on  top  of  Mauna 
Loa  burst  out  as  a  large  lurid  light  with  a  roar  resembling 
thunder.  At  10:05  P.  M.  there  was  an  additional  eruption 
from  the  crater  to  the  north  of  Mokuaweoweo,  apparently  as 
large  as  the  first.  At  1 1  P.  M.  there  was  still  another ;  this  time 
southwesterly  from  the  first,  making  in  all  three  active  fires  on 
the  top  and  slopes  of  Mauna  Loa.  Kilauea  is  also  very  active; 
both  lakes  are  booming  and  a  third  forming.  There  are  several 
large  flows  on  the  floor  of  the  crater. 

Later,  under  date  of  November  5th,  he  records  as  follows: 

About  9  P.  M.  a  flow  of  lava  started  from  the  northern  slope 
of  Mauna  Loa,  apparently  towards  Waimea;  and  on  November 
9th  the  same  flow  started  a  branch  along  the  slope  and  fall 
of  the  mountain  toward  Kapapala,  which  continued  several 
days  on  its  journey,  making  eight  or  ten  miles  per  day. 

Mr.  Coan  states  that  the  first  light  of  this  eruption  was  seen 
at  Waimea;  later  from  Hilo.  "The  lavas  could  be  distinctly 
seen  leaping  like  a  fountain  into  the  air." 

The  source  of  this  stream  is  along  a  divide,  although  the 
ground  is  very  flat.  A  fissure  is  still  traceable  along  this  divide 
running  N.  E.  from  Mokuaweoweo.  After  considerable  diffi- 
culty the  Government  map  located  the  terminal  crater  for  this 
flow  near  Puu  Ulaula  and  quite  near  the  source  of  the  1852  and 
1855  flows.  I  have  examined  the  small  crater  of  lapilli  from 
which  the  flows  proceeded.  The  light  was  first  visible  from 
Waimea,  November  5th,  1880,  and  a  few  hours  later  from  Hilo, 
from  whence  a  fountain  was  visible.  The  source  was  about 
11,000  feet  above  the  sea.  The  next  day  a  line  of  light  extended 
from  this  source  toward  Mauna  Kea.  About  the  same  time  an- 
other stream  started  from  the  same  source  and  proceeded  to- 
wards Kau ;  and  again  later  a  third  stream  commenced  a  little 
lower  down  and  proceeded  toward  Hilo.  The  Kea  stream 
flowed  to  the  saddle  between  Mauna  Loa  and  Mauna  Kea, 
about  twelve  miles.  The  Kau  stream  coursed  southerly  about  the 
same  distance.  Rev.  E.  P.  Baker  finds  upon  repeated  exami- 
nation that  the  first  two  streams  started  from  a  pit  crater  known 
as  Puka  Uahi,  exactly  upon  the  divide,  so  that  a  very  slight 
obstacle  turned  the  stream  from  one  side  to  the  other,  He 


n8 

says  the  Kau  stream  started  first,  the  Kea  next  and  the  Hilo 
from  a  still  lower  point. 

Judge  D.  H.  Hitchcock  saw  the  second  and  third  streams  on 
the  nth  inst.,  from  Kalaieha,  already  several  miles  in  extent. 
Half  way  from  the  plains  to  the  source  the  lavas  rose  into  a 
large  dome,  over  which  it  flowed  like  a  fountain.  Mr.  Green 
says  that  several  orifices  discharged  lava  "accompanied  by  the 
usual  white-hot  lava  fountains,  brilliant  reflections  and  immense 
volumes  of  smoke."  These  streams  varied  in  width  from  a  few 
yards  to  several  miles,  and  there  are  separate  areas  several  square 
miles  in  extent  from  ten  to  twenty  feet  thick.  The  cubic  con- 
tents were  not  equal  in  amount  to  those  of  the  1855  flow.  The 
greater  part  of  the  lava  came  out  in  the  first  few  weeks  of  its 
history.  In  four  months'  time  the  Hilo  stream  was  about  twenty- 
six  miles  long  and  within  seven  miles  of  Hilo;  in  seven  and  two- 
thirds  months,  June  28th,  within  five  miles;  July  i8th,  about 
two  miles;  and  August  loth,  nine  months  after  the  outbreak, 
the  stream  stopped  at  a  stone  wall  near  a  sugar  mill,  three- 
fourths  of  a  mile  from  Hilo.  June  3Oth,  the  velocity  was  meas- 
ured and  found  to  be  seventy-five  feet  an  hour.  Had  the  flow 
been  concentrated  in  one  stream  the  town  of  Hilo  would  have 
been  covered  up.  The  people  were  very  anxious,  as  was 
natural,  and  made  use  of  divination  and  prayer  to  the  higher 
powers  for  relief.  Sorcerers  or  priests  supposed  to  be  represen- 
tatives of  the  ancient  Hawaiian  regime  attempted  to  stay  the 
flood  near  the  house  of  John  Hall,  The  stream  destroyed  the 
house  but  left  a  small  part  of  the  garden  and  continued  its 
general  course.  Prayers  were  offered  continuously  by  the 
church,  and  it  was  believed  that  these  supplications  had  led  to 
the  removal  of  the  threatened  calamity. 

A  series  of  eight  photographs  has  been  widely  circulated, 
showing  how  a  stream  of  water  was  licked  up.  The  first  dis- 
plays a  group  of  people  standing  at  the  edge  of  a  cliff  while 
the  lava  had  nearly  reached  the  brink  behind  them.  Soon  the 
people  disappeared  and  a  little  of  the  sanguineous  fluid  crept 
over  the  bank.  This  increased,  became  a  steady  cataract,  the 
water  turned  into  steam,  explosions  ensued.  The  basin  was 
gradually  filled  up  and  became  a  gently  sloping  plain  in  the 
space  of  one  hundred  minutes.  At  a  similar  locality  the  lava  was 
cooled  at  first  and  large  pieces  accumulated  in  piles  as  high 
as  the  cliff;  then  the  lava  stream  flowed  directly  over  the  talus 
and  the  water  flowed  side  by  side  with  the  lava  until  it  had 
been  evavorated  and  the  basin  filled  up.  This  was  fresh  water. 
I  have  seen  one  of  these  illustrations  engraved  in  a  book  and  it  was 
said  to  be  the  flow  of  the  stream  into  the  ocean.  In  our  his- 


torical  sketch  several  cases  have  been  mentioned  where  the 
flow  of  lava  reached  the  sea,  but  not  this  one.  Plate  246  illus- 
trates the  movement  of  the  lava  over  a  cliff  into  a  pool  of 
fresh  water. 

The  Kau  stream  is  mostly  aa,  but  started  as  pahoehoe.  Most 
of  the  Hilo  stream  is  pahoehoe.  About  four  miles  from  Hilo 
there  was  a  change  from  pahoehoe  to  aa,  and  one  can  pass  for 
many  rods  through  a  tunnel  in  which  the  molten  lava  had 
flowed  for  a  long  time — the  entrances  being  where  the  roof 
had  fallen  in.  There  are  stalactites,  stalagmites  and  various 
mouldings.  Some  of  the  surfaces  are  glazed.  The  tunnel  is 
very  variable  in  its  dimensions,  from  two  to  ten  feet  high  with 
a  general  width  of  thirty  feet.  The  roof  is  from  two  to  six 
feet  thick.  I  have  a  view  painted  by  Furneaux  of  the  lava 
stream,  intensely  hot,  coursing  down  the  slope,  but  visible  be- 
cause of  a  break  in  the  cover.  Stalactites  of  peculiar  shape 
abound:  some  are  as  slender  as  pipe  stems,  of  uniform  width, 
but  very  much  twisted;  others  are  straight  with  a  short,  irreg- 
ular twist  near  the  end.  Mr.  Baker  found  some  bent  toward 
a  blowhole  entrance  into  the  tunnel.  Some  are  from  twenty 
to  thirty  inches  long,  and  usually  six  or  eight  inches  apart. 
The  stalagmites  beneath  consist  of  a  heap  of  similar  bent 
coalescing  stems.  Crystals  of  olivine  are  common  in  them. 
Other  stalactites  are  short  and  thick,  often  resembling 
the  udders  of  mammals,  and  have  a  glazed  surface.  Stalagmitic 
masses  frequently  are  like  piles  of  ordure.  Some  of  the  stilac- 
tites  show  that  clots  of  the  liquid  lava  were  thrown  about  and 
lodged  upon  them  near  their  points.  Plate  20  is  a  photograph 
of  a  cave  near  Bougainville  showing  the  stalactites  hanging 
from  the  roof  and  the  stalagmites  beneath  upon  the  floor.  It 
was  found  in  1881  and  was  taken  by  Professor  W.  Libbey  of 
Princeton  in  1893. 

The  three  streams  connected  with  this  eruption  are  delineated 
upon  the  general  map  of  Hawaii,  Plate  14. 

MOKTJAWEOWEO  IN  1882. 

Captain  C.  E.  Button  ascended  Mauna  Loa  in  1882.  First 
he  visited  the  group  of  cones  near  Puu  Ulaula,  the  sources  of 
the  later  flows,  1855,  1880  being  among  those  which  he  identi- 
fied. Each  one  is  a  true  crater,  composed  of  lapilli  and  ashes 
which  were  ejected  when  the  several  streams  of  lava  poured 
out  successively.  None  exceed  one  hundred  and  twenty  feet  in 
height.  He  justly  represents  the  dominant  idea  of  the  area 
as  immensity,  whose  best  conception  is  attained  by  attempting 


120 

to  journey  over  it.  Miles  may  be  traversed  and  yet  the  same 
landmarks  seem  to  stand  just  where  they  were  an  hour  pre- 
vious. 

Because  of  the  arrangement  of  the  rough  lavas  one  cannot 
well  continue  on  from  Puu  Ulaula  direct  to  the  summit  with 
animals,  so  the  descent  to  Ainapo  is  necessary  before  attempt- 
ing the  summit.  This  he  describes  as  a  broad  platform  about 
four  or  five  miles  in  extent,  within  which  is  sunken  the  caldera 
Mokuaweoweo.  It  is  about  a  mile  and  a  half  from  the  shoul- 
der of  the  mountain  to  the  pit.  The  surface  is  more  rugged 
than  the  slopes  passed  over.  Cracks  and  piles  of  broken  rocks 
(but  no  cinder  cones)  are  everywhere  apparent. 

At  the  east  edge  of  the  pit  the  wall  is  about  six  hundred  feet 
deep.  The  view  is  more  impressive  than  that  of  Kilauea,  be- 
cause the  depth  is  greater  and  the  encircling  walls  are  more 
precipitous  and  continuous.  The  floor  is  covered  by  the  same 
hummocks  and  broken  crusts.  In  the  central  part  there  is  a 
depression  suggesting  the  lower  pit  of  Kilauea  and  the  sur- 
rounding black-ledge.  Captain  Button  had  Lydgate's  map  of 
1874  before  him  and  seemed  to  consider  the  central  area  as 
the  lower  pit,  one  hundred  and  seventy-five  to  one  hundred 
and  eighty  feet  below  the  platforms  both  to  the  north  and 
south. 

There  was  no  volcanic  action  whatever;  not  even  a  wisp  of 
steam  could  be  detected  issuing  from  any  point.  The  lava  lake 
had  become  as  solid  as  the  rocks  of  the  walls.  Still  he  does 
mention  some  heat  rising  from  the  numberless  little  cracks 
upon  the  floor,  and  an  occasional  whiff  of  sulphurous  gas. 
Looking  at  the  panorama  outlined  by  W.  H.  Holmes  from 
Button's  photographs,  Plate  18,  one  perceives  that  the  main 
foreground  is  the  southern  platform  (C  of  Alexander's  map). 
Directly  in  front  near  the  west  wall  is  the  "boundary  cone" 
in  front  of  gravelly  fans  that  may  represent  eruptions  from 
fissures.  To  the  left  there  is  the  descent  to  the  small  southern 
crater.  The  main  pit  to  the  right  appears  much  smaller  than 
it  is,  because  of  its  distance.  Near  the  east  wall  is  a  small 
double  cone.  The  edge  of  the  northern  platform  is  quite  irreg- 
ular, and  in  the  far  distance  are  the  outlines  of  Mauna  Kea. 

ASCENT  IN  1883. 

The  writer  was  privileged  to  follow  the  trails  taken  by  Cap- 
tarn  Button  to  the  sources  of  the  1880  flow  near  Puu  Ulaula 
and  to  Mokuaweoweo.  His  companion  was  F.  J.  Perryman  of 
the  Government  Survey,  and  the  time  was  January.  Following 


121 

so  closely  to  Button,  our  observations  could  not  vary  much 
from  his.  The  trip  has  been  a  great  help  in  the  understanding 
of  the  phenomena  attending  the  later  eruptions;  and  some  refer- 
ence may  be  made  to  what  was  seen  by  us  in  1883  in  the  sequel. 

Our  experiences  on  the  summit  of  Mauna  Loa  were  some- 
what unique.  Because  of  the  presence  of  snow  our  guide  com- 
pletely lost  his  way.  The  Hawaiians  remember  every  crag  and 
fragments  of  rock  along  the  route,  as  they  are  landmarks.  But 
the  snow  had  completely  concealed  everything  upon  which 
Ahuai  relied  for  information,  and  we  found  ourselves  walking 
in  a  circle.  We  had  just  determined  to  find  our  way  out  by 
the  compass,  when  Ahuai  fortunately  descried  the  pit,  and  we 
had  as  good  a  view  of  the  caldera  as  the  season  permitted.  My 
point  of  view  was  the  same  with  that  showing  Button's 
panorama.  Just  before  reaching  the  edge  of  the  pit  a  snow 
squall  struck  us,  charged  with  electricity.  All  of  us  in  the  party 
emitted  electric  sparks  from  our  persons,  with  a  prickling  sen- 
sation. The  feelings  were  such  as  I  have  experienced  when 
holding  the  cups  of  a  magneto-electric  machine.  Mountaineers 
have  occasionally  passed  through  similar  experiences  in  highly 
elevated  regions. 

The  fresh  snow  gave  us  a  view  never  before  reported  from  the 
summit.  The  platform  beneath  us,  probably  only  the  limited  shelf 
which  occupies  so  much  of  the  foreground  in  the  panorama,  was 
white  with  snow.  Hence  the  volcanic  peculiarities  were  concealed 
from  view.  But  the  fact  that  snow  could  exist  there  in  the  short 
time  we  had  to  observe  corroborates  Captain  Button's  statement  of 
the  absence  of  all  signs  of  igneous  action.  The  volcano  was  so 
dead  that  snow  could  rest  upon  it  for  a  time  without  being 
melted. 

MOKUAWEOWEO  IN  1885. 

E.  P.  Baker  descended  to  the  bottom  of  the  crater  in  April 
and  found  everything  quiet. 

One  of  the  most  satisfactory  reports  of  the  conditions  in 
Mokuaweoweo  is  given  by  Rev.  J.  M.  Alexander,  who  was  en- 
gaged in  surveying  lands  for  the  Government,  and  marked  the 
corner  in  the  bottom  of  the  pit  where  the  four  areas  of  Kea- 
auhou,  Kahuku,  Kapapala  and  Kaohe  meet,  which  is  at  the 
cone  in  the  southwest  part  of  the  principal  pit.  This  prin- 
cipal pit  had  a  floor  of  pahoehoe  streaked  with  gray  sulphur 
cracks,  from  hundreds  of  which  there  issued  columns  of  steam, 
and  the  boundary  cone  (M)  one  hundred  and  forty  feet  high, 
composed  of  pumice  and  friable  lava,  still  hot  and  smoking. 
Just  east  of  this  cone  was  a  basin  (E)  four  hundred  feet  wide, 


122 

twenty  feet  deep,  apparently  connected  with  a  recent  flow  of 
lava  to  the  northeast.  South  of  the  boundary  was  a  plateau 
from  five  hundred  to  five  hundred  and  fifty  feet  below  the  sum- 
mit (C  on  the  map)  and  beyond  this  an  opening  into  a  small 
deep  pit  (D)  eight  hundred  feet  deep.  North  of  the  main  pit 
was  another  shelf  six  hundred  and  severity-five  to  seven  hundred 
and  fifty  feet  down  (B  on  map),  rising  from  the  lower  floor 
by  a  precipice  of  fifty  feet.  At  the  north  end  the  highest 
plateau  (A)  four  hundred  and  seventy-five  and  five  hundred  and 
fifty  feet  had  practically  the  same  level  as  C.  The  easiest  path 
down  was  at  the  south  angle  of  A  just  south  of  a 
circular  pit  six  hundred  feet  deep,  1,000  feet  wide,  with  a  cone 
in  its  center  still  smoking.  Not  very  long  before  there  had 
been  a  flow  of  lava  from  the  summit  into  A  making  the  incline 
for  the  path  down.  "Farther  south  there  were  the  courses  of 
two  other  cataracts,  which  had  poured  directly  into  the  cen- 
tral crater.  At  the  summit  I  found  the  deep  fissure  from  which 
these  cataracts  had  been  supplied  with  lava,  and  ascertained 
that  it  had  also  poured  an  immense  stream  north  upon  the 
first  plateau  and  thence  south  into  the  central  crater." 

The  length  of  the  whole  caldera  was  about  19,000  feet;  the 
greatest  breadth  9,000  feet;  the  greatest  depth  800  feet;  the 
area  3 . 6  square  miles.  Near  the  north  edge  of  plateau  C,  south 
from  the  boundary  cone,  there  had  been  eruptions  from  fissures 
both  into  the  plateau  and  to  the  southwest  towards  Kahuku. 

Of  the  general  conclusions  Mr.  Alexander  opines  that  Mo- 
kuaweoweo  is  a  series  of  four  or  five  craters,  the  walls  of  which 
have  broken  down,  so  that  they  have  flowed  into  each  other. 

Finding  that  lava  had  flowed  into  the  caldera,  he  asks: 
"How  has  the  lava  risen  high  enough  to  pour  in  extensive 
eruptions  through  these  fissures,  almost  a  thousand  feet  above 
the  bottom  of  the  crater,  without  rising  in  the  crater  and  over- 
flowing it  ?  The  same  question  has  often  been  asked  in  respect 
to  the  rise  of  liquid  lava  to  the  summit  of  Mauna  Loa  without 
overflowing  the  open  crater  of  Kilauea,  10,000  feet  below." 

The  smaller  craters,  more  than  fifty  in  number,  on  Mauna 
Loa,  Mauna  Kea  and  Hualalai  are  arranged  without  reference 
to  the  several  mountains,  but  to  points  of  the  compass.  The 
nearly  parallel  fissures  through  which  the  lava  has  flowed  with 
craters  run  from  S.4O°-6o°E.  There  are  a  few  arranged  in 
lines  running  N.5o°E.  The  major  axes  of  the  great  craters 
upon  Hawaii  are  at  right  angles  to  the  general  trend  of  the 
archipelago,  or  about  N.3O°E..  The  highest  walls  are  on  the 
western  side,  and  the  action  is  developing  towards  the  south- 
west. 


123 

Mr.  Alexander  made  his  first  ascent  in  September,  1885,  in 
company  with  Mr.  J.  S.  Emerson,  passing  by  the  ragged  crater 
hill  from  which  the  outbreak  of  1859  na<^  issued.  His  other 
journey,  when  he  completed  his  measurements,  was  about  a 
month  later.  Plate  ijC  is  a  copy  of  J.  M.  Alexander's  map. 

ERUPTION  OF   1887. 

This  was  like  that  of  1868,  and  broke  out  low  down  the 
mountain  at  Kahuku.  In  December,  1886,  earthquakes  became 
frequent  about  Kahuku.  These  averaged  three  per  diem  by 
the  I2th  of  January.  Mr.  George  Jones  counted  three  hundred 
and  fourteen  shocks  between  2:12  A.  M.  of  January  I7th  and 
4  A.  M.  of  January  i8th;  sixty-seven  on  the  iQth  inst.,  and 
three  on  the  following  day.  In  Hilea  six  hundred  and  eighteen 
were  counted  between  2  A.  M.  of  the  i6th  and  7  P.  M.  of  the 
i8th.  Other  persons  counted  between  five  hundred  and  six 
hundred  in  the  two  days  and  then  desisted  because  the  shaking 
became  almost  continuous. 

Light  appeared  in  the  Pohaku  o  Hanalei  south  of  the  summit 
about  9  P,  M.  of  the  i6th.  It  was  also  visible  from  the  i8th 
to  the  2Oth.  Mr.  Baker  found  the  height  of  the  first  outbreak 
on  the  i6th  or  I7th  to  be  11,500  feet.  There  did  not  seem  to 
have  been  much  action  in  Mokuaweoweo.  About  4  P.  M.  of 
the  i8th,  with  the  culmination  of  the  earthquakes,  there  came 
an  outbreak  about  6,500  feet  above  and  twenty  miles  from  the 
sea,  consisting  of  fountains  of  lava  rising  up  from  an  extended 
fissure.  The  flood  reached  the  sea  at  noon  of  the  I9th  about 
four  miles  west  of  the  flow  of  1868.  It  extended  from  three 
hundred  to  five  hundred  feet  out  to  sea  without  making  any 
cinder  cone.  By  noon  of  the  24th  inst.  the  flow  ceased,  but 
fires  were  still  active  along  the  vent.  January  2Oth,  parties 
visiting  the  spot  counted  fifteen  lava  fountains,  some  of  them 
two  hundred  feet  high  along  the  line  of  fissure  N.3O°E.  for  two 
or  three  miles.  Mr.  Green  says  this  lava  flowed  for  fifteen 
days,  the  latter  part  of  the  time  under  its  own  cooled  crust, 
and  formed  an  aa  stream  from  four  hundred  feet  to  two  miles 
wide,  and  from  eight  to  twenty  feet  deep. 

T  abridge  the  following  statement  from  the  account  of  W. 
E.  Rowell,  C,  E.,  of  Honolulu,  who  visited  the  flow  January 
23d.  At  the  height  of  3,400  feet  the  stream  was  an  open 
river  with  well  defined  banks  more  than  one  hundred  and  fifty 
feet  wide,  running  at  the  rate  of  six  to  eight  miles  per  hour. 
The  stream  was  filled  with  lumps  or  grains  occasionally  carry- 
ing black  blotches  upon  its  surface.  At  the  height  of  4,000 


124 

feet  there  was  an  immense  fountain,  rising  between  walls  of 
fresh  lava  which  had  become  consolidated,  from  fifteen  to 
forty  feet  high.  The  lava  spouted  up  like  a  jet  of  steam,  whose 
spray  fell  to  the  ground,  solidified  with  lapilli.  The  main 
fountain  occupied  a  length  of  more  than  one  hundred  feet 
along  the  channel.  Two  other  fountains  were  also  observed, 
one  above  and  the  other  below  the  one  first  seen. 

Rev.  E.  P.  Baker  visited  this  flow  on  the  28th  inst.  with 
others.  They  found  the  head  of  the  flow  5,700  feet  above  the 
sea,  sixteen  miles  by  pedometer  from  Jones'  Ranch  and  above 
the  timber  among  sparse  ohia.  It  had  formed  five  small  cones 
in  the  line  of  a  fissure  at  least  three  miles  long.  They  saw 
a  fountain  playing  one  hundred  and  fifty-five  feet  high  from  a 
cone  fifty  feet  high,  falling  into  a  basin  of  lava  from  whence 
issued  a  narrow  stream  of  pure  white  fire  twenty-five  feet 
wide,  with  a  velocity  of  fifteen  miles  per  hour,  Much  lapilli 
was  thrown  out. 

Professor  Dana  reports  from  various  accounts  that  the  lavas 
were  thrown  up  as  fountains,  about  eighty  feet  in  diameter  and 
one  hundred  feet  high.  One  authority,  Mr.  Spencer,  says  that 
on  the  2Oth  there  were  fifteen  fountains  in  action,  the  highest 
rising  to  two  hundred  feet.  Blocks  of  stone  weighing  tons 
were  moved  by  the  stream.  At  first  the  stream  was  ot  aa, 
flowing  about  one  and  a  half  miles  per  hour.  Later  the  flow 
was  rapid  and  consisted  of  pahoehoe.  The  throw  of  the  earth- 
quakes was  to  the  southeast,  and  light  wooden  houses  moved 
eight  or  ten  inches  down  the  slope.  In  Hilo  the  oscillations 
were  said  to  have  been  from  the  south-southwest.  February 
2Oth,  Judge  D.  H.  Hitchcock  was  at  the  summit  and  found 
vapors  issuing  from  large  fissures. 

From  Rev.  S.  E,  Bishop's  description  in  the  Hawaiian  Ga- 
zette, we  quote  the  following.  He  arrived  off  the  flow  Feb- 
ruary ist  after  the  lava  had  mostly  ceased  running: 

"At  daylight  we  steamed  in  some  six  miles  from  where  we 
had  lain  around  in  the  night,  The  same  dark  cloud  kept  its 
station,  marking  the  course  of  the  hot  flow  directly  beneath  it. 
Mauna  Loa's  vast  dome,  now  cloudless,  was  far  inland,  but  dim 
in  the  haze.  To  the  right  stretched  away  the  long,  low  south 
point  of  the  island.  Inland,  about  six  miles,,  the  groves  and 
buildings  of  Jones'  Ranch  broke  the  line  of  the  long  slope. 
Close  to  this  could  be  seen  the  black  line  of  the  pahoehoe  flow 
of  1868,  terminating  broadly  at  the  sea  near  Marchant's  hill, 
two  or  three  miles  to  the  right.  In  front  were  other  and  older 
flows,  among  which,  broader  and  blacker  than  the  rest,  spread- 


125 

ing  lawless  and  ragged  down  the  strong  slope  to  the  level  bot- 
toms, lay  hot  and  tumultuous  the  flow  of  1887. 

"The  hot  air  over  the  flow  rises  in  a  strong  current.  At  the 
height  of  perhaps  3,000  feet  from  the  surface  it  rarifies  and 
chills,  condensing  the  aqueous  vapor  with  which  all  air  is 
loaded,  thus  forming  a  dark,  massive  cloud  directly  over  the 
flow  and  marking  its  course.  Some  seven  miles  inland  this 
line  of  cloud  made  a  sharp  turn  or  elbow  to  the  northward,  di- 
rectly toward  the  summit  crater  of  Mokuaweoweo.  We  had 
the  pillar  of  cloud  by  day,  but  to  our  chagrin,  we  had  not  pillar  of 
fire  by  night.  Noting  the  length  of  this  cloud,  and  where  it  ap- 
peared to  terminate,  I  estimated  the  length  of  the  flow  at  from 
sixteen  to  twenty  miles,  and  the  head  of  it  very  much  more  than 
twice  as  far  inland  as  Kahuku  Ranch. 

"The  front  of  the  new  lava  was  easily  distinguished  as  we 
steamed  up  to  it  by  its  black  and  rugged  piles  and  outjetting 
points,  in  contrast  with  the  whitish,  mossy  sea  line  and  older 
rocks  on  each  side.  From  most  parts  of  its  shore  small  clouds 
of  steam  were  rising  thickly.  From  a  cone  near  its  south  side 
a  large  jet  of  strong  steam  rolled  continuously  and  clouds  of 
this  swept  up  on  land.  Hereabouts  for  fifty  feet  out  from  shore 
the  water  was  covered  with  visible  steam.  We  stopped  near 
the  south  side,  dropped  our  boats  and  rapidly  landed  the  whole 
crowd  of  two  hundred  visitors,  including  natives.  We  climbed  up 
the  rocks  some  twenty  feet  upon  an  old  pahoehoe  flow.  This  was 
a  mass  of  hummocks,  wrinkles  and  bubble  caves,  but  quite 
easily  clambered  over.  Many  large  sea-worn  boulders  and 
much  sand  had  been  flung  up  one  hundred  feet  or  more  in- 
land over  this  by  the  tidal  wave  of  1868.  A  lauhala  grove  was 
on  one  spot  of  sand,  and  the  green  streamers  of  the  maia  pilo 
lay  in  profusion  on  the  lava  with  their  great,  lovely  plumed 
white  flowers. 

"But  to  the  left  the  vast,  hideous  mounds  of  Pele's  awful 
work  enchained  our  eyes,  like  enormous  piles  of  brownish 
coal,  but  indescribably  more  ragged,  stretched  inland  over  the 
low  rising  plain  for  two  miles  to  the  mountain  slope,  in  a  sub- 
stantially direct  line,  this  bank  of  hot  cinders,  averaging  twenty- 
eight  feet  high  on  the  edge,  but  rising  towards  the  middle  to 
an  average  height  of  forty  feet.  Many  points  must  have  been 
twenty  feet  or  more  above  the  general  level,  if  the  word  level 
can  be  used  of  such  chaotic  masses  of  ruin.  The  sides  of  the 
mass  were  steep  and  crumbling,  composed  of  large,  ragged 
clinkers  and  fine  cinders  intermingled,  difficult  enough  to  climb 
on  its  jagged  but  yielding  footing.  The  whole  seemed  like  a 
colossal  embankment,  as  if  10,000  cyclopean  trains  of  mastodon 


126 

cars  had  been  dumping  the  rocks  of  Mauna  Loa  for  a  century 
towards  the  sea. 

"All  was  shimmering  with  heat.  We  found  a  way  up  the 
crumbling  heaps  of  pumice  and  slag,  and  reckless  of  singeing 
boots  and  hot  blasts  from  below,  scrambled  around  among  the 
sharp  and  ragged  pinnacles  to  higher  points,  whence  only  a  wider 
waste  and  wilder  desolation  were  to  be  seen.  At  one  point  a 
party  were  charring  their  sticks  in  a  red-hot  hole.  At  another  was 
a  rent  fifty  feet  long,  where,  some  fifteen  feet  below,  was  a  great 
glow  of  almost  white  heat  along  its  length.  There  was  almost 
an  entire  absence  of  noxious  odors  and  gases,  and  even  of  steam, 
though  sudden  hot  blasts  of  air  would  often  drive  one  aside. 

"The  sea  front  was  most  impressive.  Here  the  great  em- 
bankment rolled  over  the  cliff  some  twenty  feet,  making  slopes  of 
from  fifty  to  seventy  feet  high  from  the  water  along  a  shore  of 
from  three-fourths  to  a  whole  mile  in  length.  I  consider  it  cer- 
tainly not  less  than  the  former  distance.  The  sea  front  is  broken 
into  a  succession  of  long,  ragged  capes  and  deep  coves,  with 
many  wide  beaches  of  coarse,  black  gravel,  thrown  up  by  the 
waves,  looking  like  shiny  nut  coal.  Here  and  there  huge  round 
boulders,  bristling  with  adhering  cinders,  lay  half  buried  in  the 
ragged  slopes.  One  of  these  was  visited  and  found  to  be  twenty 
feet  long.  Are  they  fragments  of  the  mountain's  massive  throat 
torn  by  the  outrushing  flood,  which  half  melts  and  rounds  them  ?22 
The  water  near  the  shore  was  generally  from  one  hundred  to 
two  hundred  degrees  Fahrenheit  and  in  spots  much  higher  and 
steaming. 

"The  northwest  side  of  the  floor  presents  a  straight  solid  em- 
bankment, apparently  thirty  or  forty  feet  high,  at  an  angle  of 
40°  to  the  coast  line,  stretching  northward  for  apparently  a  mile 
or  more,  then  turning  inland.  Evidently  the  breadth  of  the 
stream  is  fully  one  and  a  half  miles  at  a  short  distance  inland.  I 
judge  that  on  the  lava  slope  are  deposited  three  square  miles  of 
clinkers,  thirty  or  forty  feet  in  depth.  The  flow  evidently  over- 
reaches the  original  coast  line  from  two  hundred  to  five  hundred 
feet,  making  some  thirty  acres  of  new  land.  Much  of  this  last 
is  of  great  depth,  soundings  being  from  twenty  to  thirty  fathoms 
close  to  the  shore.  A  large  or  rapid  extension  of  coast  is  im- 
possible where  such  a  depth  is  to  be  filled  in. 

"It  is  comparatively  easy  to  estimate  the  amount  of  forces  in- 
volved, and  the  colossal  dimensions  of  the  great  tidal  wall  of 
mingled  white-hot  lava  and  scoria  foam  that  rolled  so  steadily 


28  These   were    aa   bombs,    comparable    to   a   turnover  pie    of   clinkers 
wrapped  in  an  outer  crust. 


127 

and  massively  forward  to  the  sea,  which  it  first  reached  more 
than  two  weeks  before.  One  can  perhaps  partially  imagine  how 
that  tide  of  fire  and  rocks  of  near  a  mile  wide  rolled  for  a  week 
over  the  shore  into  the  deep  and  convulsed  ocean.  But  I  have 
never  seen  work  of  that  sort,  and  I  have  no  powers  of  imagina- 
tion to  conceive  the  awful  splendor  of  the  downward  charge  of 
that  mile-broad  deluge  of  fire,  nor  the  horror  of  tornado  clash 
and  roar  with  which  that  vast  wall  of  rolling  rock  and  cinder 
pressed  forward  over  the  land,  piling  upon  the  plain,  crashing  into 
the  sea.  We  saw  but  the  dead  and  dying  remains — dreadful, 
dark  and  silent. 

"The  lava  in  its  descent  appeared  to  be  making  aa  exclusively. 
Pahoehoe  was  seen,  however,  mingled  in  some  portions  of  the 
flow  visited.  The  lava  was  bright  on  Sunday  night,  the  3Oth,  as 
seen  from  the  Kahuku  Ranch  near  by  and  much  glow  was  visible 
on  Monday  morning.  *  *  *  I  can  add  no  more  of  special 
interest  about  the  eruption  of  1887,  except  that  ^  it  is  unquestion- 
ably much  greater  in  quantity  than  that  of  1868,  being  more  than 
twice  the  length  of  the  latter,  and  of  greater  depth  on  the  ground." 
Plate  19  represents  a  part  of  the  flow  of  1887. 

Dec.  29,  1887,  J.  S.  Emerson  from  Kohala  sees  volumes  of 
smoke  and  steam  pouring  out  of  the  summit  crater,  but  no  glow 
or  reflection  of  fire.  These  signs  of  activity  disappeared  early 
in  February  following. 

VISITS  OF  W.  C.  MERRITT  AND  E.  P.  BAKER  IN  1888. 

Most  of  the  features  observed  by  Mr.  Alexander  in  1885  were 
recognized ;  but  the  depth  of  the  east  wall  seemed  to  be  only  three 
hundred  and  fifty  feet  instead  of  eight  hundred.  There  were  fis- 
sures at  the  very  south  end  of  the  caldera  pointing  towards  Ka- 
huku, or  the  eruption  of  1887.  They  descended  into  this  pit 
finding  its  depth  eight  hundred  and  seventy-five  feet,  and  saw 
some  very  fresh  looking  lava  which  may  have  been  poured  out 
the  preceding  year. 

The  trip  was  made  in  July.  Mr.  Baker  saw  seven  running 
streams  and  three  or  four  ponds  of  water  in  going  from  Ainapo 
to  the  source  of  the  1887  Kahuku  flow. 

July  29,  1890,  L.  A.  Thurston  and  Mr.  Clark  descended  into 
the  pit  and  saw  a  blow  hole  still  warm,  and  considerable  steam. 
The  floor  was  covered  with  pumice.  At  the  southwest  corner  a 
dense  column  of  steam  arose  which  was  not  wholly  dissipated  till 
it  had  risen  above  the  rim.  There  was  much  sulphur  at  its  base 
and  higher  up  on  the  west  wall. 


128 

June  24,  1893,  Julian  Monsarrat,  E.  P.  Baker  and  five  others, 
besides  the  Hawaiian  guides  and  helpers,  visited  Mokuaweoweo. 
Mr.  Baker  refers  to  the  disappearance  of  a  small  crater  two  hun- 
dred feet  in  diameter  and  two  hundred  feet  deep,  which  was 
found  on  the  floor  of  the  main  crater  in  June,  1887.  He  had  seen 
it  in  1888,  and  Mr.  Monsarrat  saw  it  in  1889.  In  1893  it  had 
been  obliterated,  having  been  filled  by  the  lava  continuous  with 
the  general  floor. 

MOKUAWEOWEO  IN  1896. 

Dr.  Friedlaender  had  visited  Vesuvius  and  Etna  several  times 
and  was  familiar  with  volcanic  scenes.  He  had  also  visited  the 
summit  caldera  in  1893,  when  it  was  inactive. 

April  21,  1896,  when  in  Kona,  he  noticed  a  large  white  cumulus 
cloud  very  high  up  on  Mauna  Loa,  and  in  the  evening  from 
Honomalino  a  bright  fire  reflection.  He  ascended  from  Napoo- 
poo,  starting  from  the  house  of  Mr.  John  Caspar  with  his  host 
and  Charley  Ka  for  guides.  The  start  was  on  horseback,  April 
25th.  They  ascended  through  the  forest  to  the  height  of  7,500 
feet,  where  the  horses  were  left  behind ;  though  it  seemed  possible 
to  use  them  nearly  to  the  summit,  after  some  knowledge  of  the 
route  had  been  obtained. 

The  cloud  over  Mauna  Loa  was  a  cumulus  of  the  well  known 
shape  of  the  Italian  pine:  a  large  mass  of  vapor  floating  to  an 
enormous  height  and  connected  with  the  mountain  only  by  a 
narrow  trunk  of  smoke.  "The  afternoon  sun  illumined  the  cloud ; 
its  snowy  white  slowly  turned  yellowish,  then,  about  sunset,  crim- 
son, and  soon  the  volcanic  glare  became  visible;  first  the  narrow 
pillar,  then  the  whole  cloud  formation  becoming  aglow  from  the 
incandescent  matter  beneath." 

The  vegetation  dwindles  at  about  3,000  meters ;  at  3,500  meters 
it  had  disappeared,  and  it  was  possible  to  choose  pahoehoe  instead 
of  aa  for  the  path.  At  the  height  of  13,000  feet  the  mule  and  at- 
tendants were  left.  The  summit  plain  is  almost  level,  and  the 
opposite  side  is  first  visible. 

It  was  easy  at  this  time  to  compare  Mokuaweoweo  with  Kilauea. 
Both  are  of  nearly  the  same  shape  and  size.  The  longer  dia- 
meters have  the  same  compass  course.  Both  have  their  highest 
points  upon  the  west  side;  and  the  walls  are  nearly  perpendicu- 
lar and  the  places  of  the  most  comfortable  descent  are  on  the 
N.E.  and  S.W.  corners.  The  area  of  Mokuaweoweo  is  smaller 
and  the  walls  higher  than  in  Kilauea.  Also  the  lava  lakes  are 
situated  similarly  near  the  southern  walls. 

The  lava  lake  was  "very  large,"  almost  level  with  the  general 


129 

floor,  surrounded  by  low  vertical  walls.  The  surface  was  crusted 
over  and  then  broken  up  into  numerous  blocks  as  has  been  de- 
scribed for  Halemaumau.  There  were  two  large  and  one  small 
lava  fountain,  the  former  of  which  played  regularly  and  uninter- 
ruptedly. Their  height  was  estimated  to  be  forty-five  to  fifty  feet, 
their  temperature  was  very  high  as  it  was  possible  to  use  the  light 
for  photography  in  the  night.  The  full  moon  and  the  fountains 
affected  the  photograph  plate  almost  alike.  Dr.  Friedlaender  did 
not  descend  into  the  pit.  He  believed  that  the  lavas  of  the  higher 
crater  contained  more  gases  and  had  a  higher  temperature  than 
Kilauea.  He  suggested  that  this  supposed  fact  would  tend  to  ex- 
plain the  enormous  differences  of  level  between  the  two  volcanoes. 
—From  Thrum's  Annual. 

Several  gentlemen  visited  Mokuaweoweo  while  this  eruption 
was  in  progress,  and  one  of  them,  Daniel  Logan,  has  written  the 
following  statement  of  some  of  the  interesting  phenomena  seen. 
The  lake  was  said  to  be  2,000  feet  long  and  1,500  feet  wide.  "The 
fountains  of  Mokuaweoweo  are  different  from  those  of  Kilauea 
when  in  activity,  in  that  they  preserve  their  relative  positions 
toward  each  other  and  their  environment,  besides  being  in  con- 
stant and  uniform  action.  When  I  say  uniform  I  mean  that, 
although  their  ebullitions  are  varying  in  violence,  as  well  as  in 
height  of  projection,  the  changes  proceed  in  steady  alternation  and 
there  is  never  a  moment  of  total  subsidence.  In  the  lake  of  Hale- 
maumau the  fountains  were  constantly  changing  in  position  and 
number  both,  and  sometimes  for  several  minutes  the  entire  sur- 
face will  be  crusted  over,  showing  scarcely  a  streak  of  fire.  The 
forms  assumed  by  the  fountains  of  Mokuaweoweo  are  of  exceed- 
ing beauty.  Each  one  shows  a  multiplied  facade  of  spines  com- 
posed of  thousands  of  bunched  jets  of  orange  color,  the  spine  to 
the  extreme  left  the  tallest  and  the  others — perhaps  eight  or  ten — 
diminishing  to  the  right.  The  component  jets  fall  inward,  when 
their  upward  impetus  is  lost,  in  graceful  parabolas  excepting 
when,  at  every  major  ejection,  there  is  a  fierce  explosive-like 
projection  outwardly  from  the  main  spire.  The  whole  effect  is  that 
of  an  illuminated  Gothic  cathedral's  front.  In  ascent  the  velocity 
of  the  ejection  is  that  of  a  rocket  multiplied.  Stupendous  pro- 
jective  force  is  what  impresses  one  together  with  the  extra- 
ordinary pyrotechnical  beauty  of  the  display.  At  the  bases  of 
the  fountain  there  is  an  intermittent  boiling  and  surging,  and  a 
sullen  roar  of  awful  majesty  rises  and  falls  like  that  of  the  ocean 
beating  on  a  rock-bound  shore.  The  jets  are  intermingled  with 
a  profusion  of  dark  angular  projectiles,  giving  the  appearance  of 
a  shower  of  brick  as  they  fall,  which  I  am  informed  is  pumice 


130 

stone.  In  line  with  the  large  fountains  are  small  ones — merely 
miniature  in  comparison — which  play  at  frequent  intervals  like 
those  of  Kilauea,  right  out  to  the  edge  of  the  lake.  There  is  a 
steady  aa  flow  from  the  fierce  caldron — which  is  fast  covering  a 
deposit  of  pahoehoe.  *  *  *  We  see  its  outer  edge  being 
pushed  slowly  but  surely  by  the  grinding  and  rolling  mass  be- 
hind toward  the  lower  bank  beneath  us.  The  van  of  the  move- 
ment is  marked  with  crimson  fire,  and  the  whole  area  of  the  flow 
is  streaked  and  dotted  with  similar  evidences  of  fiery  vitality. 
While  we  are  gazing  in  raptures  on  the  spectacle,  a  phenomenon 
of  wonderful  interest,  noted  by  observers  of  previous  eruptions, 
is  repeatedly  witnessed.  The  heat  produces  a  fierce  whirlwind 
at  the  opposite  side  of  the  crater.  It  is  shaped  like  a  pillar, 
slender  and  pale  brown,  high  as  the  cliff  opposite,  or  a  thousand 
feet,  and  symmetrical  as  a  Corinthian  pillar.  At  is  rushes  along 
at  galloping  speed,  with  a  spiral  motion,  its  lower  end  rips  up  the 
massive  lava  crust  in  huge  slabs  and  tosses  them  aside  like  the 
action  of  a  steamer's  propeller  in  friable  ice.  *  *  *  The 
height  of  the  fountains  is  estimated  at  five  hundred  feet. 

April  29-30.  A  party  of  fourteen  persons  with  two  guides 
and  three  helpers,  made  the  ascent  while  the  conditions  were  in- 
teresting. Mr.  F.  S.  Dodge  marked  the  peculiar  features  of  the 
eruption  upon  a  copy  of  the  plan  of  Rev.  Mr.  Alexander.  The 
new  lava  covered  about  half  the  area  of  the  main  pit.  The  foun- 
tains of  lava  occupied  the  place  where  they  have  always  been  re- 
ported ;  and  there  was  a  deep  pit  near  the  south  wall.  They  did 
not  descend  to  the  lower  levels. 

In  1906  Mr.  H.  B.  Guppy,  an  English  Naturalist,  published 
an  account  of  a  three  weeks'  sojourn  upon  the  summit  of  Mokua- 
weoweo,  Aug.  8-13,  1897.  The  air  was  highly  electrified.  He 
could  trace  letters  upon  his  red  blanket  at  night  in  phosphorescent 
lines.  The  air  was  also  very  dry,  leading  to  the  following 
physiological  effects;  cessation  of  the  action  of  the  skin,  severe 
headaches,  sore  throat,  tendency  to  palpitation,  dyspnoea,  sleep- 
lessness, lassitude  and  loss  of  appetite.  Most  of  the  unpleasant 
symptoms  disappeared  when  damp  weather  intervened.  Just  be- 
fore sunrise  and  after  sunset  the  shadow  of  the  mountain  was 
thrown  back  against  the  sky.  The  range  of  temperature  was 
twice  as  great  as  on  the  coast.  He  made  many  descents  into  the 
pit  on  the  northwest  side.  In  dry  weather  smoke  issued  from 
near  the  center  of  the  pit  and  in  the  southwest  corner,  where  are 
deposits  of  sulphur,  and  whence  moist  vapors  arise  from  nearly  the 
whole  surface.  These  are  white,  and  are  supposed  to  be  rising 
all  the  time,  but  are  invisible  except  when  there  are  clouds  over- 


head  or  it  is  damp.  Very  much  vapor  discharged  from  South 
Mokuaweoweo,  which  is  the  "smoke"  sometimes  observed  from 
Kona.  Insect  life  is  abundant,  having  been  brought  up  by  a 
southerly  wind. 

Mr.  Guppy  made  important  observations  upon  the  history  of 
the  caldera  during  his  sojourn  on  the  summit,  which  were  pub- 
lished in  the  Advertiser,  September  6-8,  1906.  The  great  an- 
tiquity is  proved  by  the  slight  differences  of  contour  shown  since 
1840,  as  well  as  the  depth — at  first  seven  hundred  and  eighty-four 
and  in  1885  eight  hundred  feet.23  There  have  always  existed 
the  great  central  cavity,  the  north  and  south  banks  and  the  pit 
that  has  been  termed  South  Mokuaweoweo.  The  small  pit  at 
the  north  end  must  have  existed  though  it  is  improperly  located 
upon  Wilkes'  plan  and  is  not  specified  upon  Lydgate's  sketch,  but 
was  spoken  of  by  Button  in  1882.  The  crater-producing  pro- 
cesses new  operating  in  the  caldera  are  the  formation  of  lower 
pits  either  in  the  main  cavity  or  the  adjoining  areas,  the  continual 
lateral  enlargement  of  the  principal  depression  by  slips  from  the 
sides  and  the  occurrence  of  two  areas  at  the  northeast  and  south- 
west where  there  is  a  constant  discharge  of  aqueous  vapors. 
None  of  the  pit-craters  contain  ejected  materials  heaped  up  at 
their  borders,  but  Pohaku  Hanalei,  about  a  mile  southwest  of 
Mokuaweoweo,  is  formed  of  lava  ejected  in  the  molten  state  and 
loose  blocks,  making  a  cone  two  hundred  feet  high,  and  its  base 
five  hundred  or  six  hundred  feet  below  the  caldera. 

His  views  of  the  origin  of  the  caldera  are  briefly  summed  up  as 
follows :  "It  would  seem  that  Mauna  Loa  has  been  raised  over  a 
deep-seated  fissure  running  N.E.  and  S.W.  for  a  distance  of  at 
least  ten  miles,  and  quite  independent  of  the  focus  of  Kilauea. 
This  huge  mountain  presents  in  the  great  terminal  basin  of  Mo- 
kuaweoweo evidence  of  its  own  decay  as  a  volcanic  vent.  After 
the  coalescence  of  the  line  of  pit  craters  on  its  summit,  its  condi- 
tion was  doubtless  comparable  to  that  of  Kilauea  in  our  own 
time.  Then  with  the  defervescence  of  its  activity,  the  level  at 
which  the  lava  was  maintained  in  a  permanently  liquid  condition 
fell  lower  and  lower  until  it  lay  as  it  does  now,  several  thousands 
of  feet  below  the  summit.  From  time  to  time,  however,  there 
was  recrudescence  of  volcanic  heat  resulting  in  the  rise  of  the 
level  of  the  permanently  liquid  lava  towards  the  summit,  the  solid 
floods  of  the  terminal  craters  reliquifying  with  the  access  of  heat, 
whilst  the  crater  walls  were  continually  undermined  by  the  partial 
remelting  of  their  foundations.  During  the  periods  of  quiescence 

28  Add  to  these  figures  those  of  Menzies  of  1,200  feet  in  1794,  of  Doug- 
lass of  1,270  in  1834,  and  of  Dutton  of  seven  hundred  and  eighty  in  1882. 


132 

the  great  basin  grew  in  breadth  by  the  rifting  and  falling  in  of 
its  walls,  and  the  products  of  its  own  decay  were  remelted  as  they 
lay  on  the  floor  during  each  recrudescence  of  activity.  It  is  in 
this  condition  that  Mokuaweoweo  presents  itself  at  the  present 
day." 

In  the  study  of  the  spring  waters  in  the  southern  part  of  Hawaii 
Mr.  Guppy  finds  facts  that  sustain  the  proposition  that  Mauna 
Loa  and  Kilauea  are  separate  centers  of  influence.  "As  far  as 
the  temperatures  of  the  underground  waters  can  guide  us,  we 
are  able  to  distinguish  on  the  southeast  coast  of  Hawaii  between 
the  respective  zones  of  influence  of  Kilauea  and  Mauna  Loa.  The 
thermal  regions  of  the  two  zones  are  sharply  contrasted.  Along 
the  whole  length  of  the  south  coast  of  Puna,  beginning  at  the 
modern  lava  flow  that  reaches  the  coast  at  Keaiwa,  about  half  way 
between  Punaluu  and  Kapapala  Bay,  the  underground  waters  of 
a  greater  or  less  degree  display  a  temperature  increased  by  the 
vicinity  of  volcanic  action.  This  is  the  Kilauea  zone  of  influ- 
ence, and  the  excess  of  heat  here  acquired  by  the  underground 
waters  varied  in  amount  from  three  to  four  degrees  above  the 
mean  temperature  of  the  air  for  January  (seventy-two  degrees) 
to  as  much  as  twenty-five.  On  the  other  hand,  west  of  this  zone 
in  the  Punaluu  district  we  find  cool  perennial  springs  display- 
ing a  constant  temperature  at  the  coast  all  through  the  year  of 
about  64  degrees;  whilst  an  inland  spring  at  an  elevation  of 
3,000  feet  had  a  temperature  of  58.5  degrees.  This  is  the  Mauna 
Loa  zone  of  influence ;  and  we  have  here  then  an  indication  of  the 
independence  of  the  two  zones  so  far  as  the  temperature  of  the 
underground  waters  is  concerned." 

THE  DISPLAY  OF  1899. 

It  was  my  good  fortune  to  have  been  in  Hawaii  in  1899  and  to 
have  witnessed  from  a  distance  the  beautiful  columns  of  liquid 
lava  rising  several  hundred  feet  above  the  surface.  I  collated 
the  facts  observed  by  myself  and  others  in  a  Bulletin  of  the  Geo- 
logical Society  of  America,  Vol.  12,  and  present  them  essentially 
as  they  were  printed  at  that  time.  Upon  the  Mauna  Kea  side  of 
the  mountain  the  principal  crater  developed  at  this  time  is  called 
the  "Dewey  Crater,"  after  the  visit  of  J.  R.  Wilson,  who  planted 
the  United  States  flag  there  July  22d,  and  christened  it,  as  men- 
tioned, in  honor  of  the  distinguished  Admiral  whose  exploits  were 
then  fresh  in  mind.  There  were  seven,  besides  the  guide  in  the 
party. 

On  June  20,  1899,  a  very  distinct  earthquake  shock  was  felt  at 


133 

Wailiilii,  my  temporary  residence,  twenty-three  miles  from  Hilo, 
eight  from  Kilauea,  and  twenty-four  in  a  right  line  from  the 
place  of  outburst.  It  was  at  7 140  P.  M.,  and  lasted  about  a  quar- 
ter of  a  minute.  At  about  the  same  hour  two  shocks  were  ob- 
served at  Hilo,  one  of  them  quite  severe.  None  were  noticed  at 
the  Volcano  House  by  Kilauea,  which  is  eighteen  miles  from  the 
place  of  outburst.  A  few  days  later  another  shock  was  felt ;  also 
on  July  n,  and  perhaps  later.  It  is  natural  to  believe  that  these 
earthquakes  had  a  direct  connection  with  the  eruption,  especially 
as  they  were  particularly  manifested  along  a  supposed  axial  line 
of  lava  accumulation. 

On  the  first  day  of  July  the  manager  of  the  Egan  coffee  planta- 
tion, twenty-one  miles  from  Hilo,  saw  a  light  above  the  top  of 
Mauna  Loa,  or  the  pit  Mokuaweoweo.  On  the  morning  of  July  4 
this  light  was  quite  conspicuous  from  both  Hilo  and  Punaluu. 
Early  July  5  there  came  an  outburst  of  liquid  lava  from  a  point 
in  the  ridge  six  miles  northeasterly  from  Mokuaweoweo  and 
thirty  from  Hilo.  It  was  best  seen  at  Kilauea.  The  people 
there  had  been  expecting  an  eruption  in  their  own  volcano ;  hence 
when  early  in  the  morning  they  heard  a  great  noise  like  thunder 
and  observed  a  flash  of  light  they  looked  to  see  commotion  in 
Kilauea.  In  this  they  were  disappointed,  and,  looking  in  a  con- 
trary direction,  saw  the  beginning  of  the  flow  of  1899  from  Mauna 
Loa.  Fountains  of  liquid  fire  spouted  hundreds  of  feet  high, 
at  an  elevation  of  about  11,000  feet  above  the  sea.  The  place  of 
discharge  proved  to  be  near  to  but  higher  than  the  source  of  the 
flow  of  1880,  and  not  far  away  from  the  terminal  cones  of  the 
discharges  of  1823,  1843,  ^S2*  and  1855. 

Parties  commenced  immediately  to  travel  to  the  source  of  the 
flow,  contrary  to  the  report  sent  east  by  the  press  that  people 
were  fleeing  for  their  lives,  abandoning  their  plantations  to  the 
fiery  flood.  Citations  will  be  made  from  the  accounts  given  by 
Professor  Edgar  Wood,24  C.  W.  Baldwin,25  Professor  A.  B.  In- 
galls,26  and  the  Honorable  W.  R.  Castle,27  the  dates  of  their  visits 
having  been  July  n,  12,  13,  and  16,  respectively.  I  had  visited 
the  place  of  the  outbreak  in  1883,  and  speak  of  it  in  my  notes  as  a 
region  of  indescribably  rough  lava,  both  "aa"  and  "pahoehoe," 
black,  yellowish  and  brown.  Our  horses  were  left  some  distance 
behind,  as  the  blocks  of  lava  were  too  large  and  rough  to  be  com- 
fortably traversed  by  them.  The  crater  of  the  Kau  part  of  the 


2*  American  Geologist,  Nov.,  1899. 

25  Hawaii's  Young  People,  Feb.,  April,  and  May,  1900. 

28  Hawaiian  Annual  for  1900. 

27  Hawaiian  Gazette,  July  25,  1899. 


134 

i88o  flow  was  a  mass  of  black  and  red  lapilli.  The  adjacent  ter- 
minal crater  at  the  head  of  the  Hilo  stream  still  emitted  heat  and 
vapor,  more  than  two  years  after  it  started.  The  1899  flow 
began  its  course  near  the  source  of  the  Hilo  stream  of  1880,  and 
more  than  two  miles  above  the  beginning  of  the  eruption  of  1852. 
By  July  5  two  fountains  were  in  operation,  at  about  11,000  and 
10,800  feet  elevation,  and  nearly  a  mile  apart.  A  week  later  the 
upper  one  had  become  only  a  smoky  chimney,  while  a  third  cone 
was  active  near  the  second.  The  lava  streams  from  the  two  open- 
ings united  and  then  flowed  northerly,  directed  toward  Mauna 
Kea.  Masses  of  stones  and  clots  of  lava  were  seen  to 
be  thrown  out  with  the  liquid  lava.  C.  H.  Kluegel,  chief  engineer 
of  the  Oahu  Railway  Company,  drew  a  rough  sketch  of  the  cone, 
with  its  discharge,  estimating  the  stream  to  be  sixty  feet  wide, 
the  fall  eighty  feet  in  the  first  four  hundred  of  descent,  the 
velocity  forty  feet  per  second,  and  the  depth  ten  feet.  ''There 
is  a  continuous  and  somewhat  regular  flow  of  lava,  with  ex- 
plosions at  intervals  of  one-half  to  one-eighth  second.  The  lava 
is  thrown  up  almost  continuously  one  hundred  and  fifty  feet  and 
occasionally  two  hundred  and  fifty  feet  high,"  says  Kluegel.  For 
several  days,  when  the  air  was  free  from  clouds,  the  fountains  of 
lava  were  beautifully  exhibited  from  the  Volcano  House  both  day 
and  night.  The  fountain  constantly  shifted  its  position,  and  when 
nearest  the  edge  of  the  cone  the  falling  clots  resembled  spangles 
of  gold  in  the  night-time.  Plate  21  shows  the  condition  of  things 
on  July  19,  as  photographed  by  C.  C.  Langill,  whose  camera  was 
evidently  situated  on  the  third  cone,  the  one  shown  on  the  left  of 
the  principal  vent.  It  proves  the  ejection  of  lapilli  and  vapors 
from  the  orifice. 

PROFESSOR  WOOD'S  OBSERVATIONS. 

Of  the  appearances  July  n,  Professor  Wood  writes  thus: 

"There  were  two  principal  live  cones,  one  much  more  active 
than  the  other.  Great  masses  of  rock  at  a  white  heat  were  being 
hurled  high  into  the  air.  These  were  probably  pieces  of  the 
crater  wall.  Sometimes  quantities  of  molten  lava  were  blown  out ; 
at  other  times  a  mixed  material  in  which  there  was  a  great  deal  of 
sulphur.  This  molten  matter  would  sometimes  be  thrown  to  the 
height  of  two  hundred  feet.  Almost  continuously  it  went  higher 
than  one  hundred  feet.  This  process  was  going  on  with  almost 
no  interruption,  while  at  intervals  great  volumes  of  smoke  poured 
forth  from  the  edge  of  the  crater.  The  principal  cone  was  about 
one  hundred  and  fifty  feet  high  on  the  north  side.  The  other 


r 

Q 


135 

sides  were  considerably  lower.  A  deep  crack  between  thirty  and 
forty  feet  wide  ran  off  in  an  easterly  direction.  The  cone  itself 
was  nearly,  if  not  altogether,  two  hundred  feet  across  the  top, 
filled  with  lava  at  a  white  heat,  never  still,  ever  leaping,  some- 
times higher,  sometimes  lower,  ever  falling  back  upon  itself  or 
spilling  in  flakes  over  the  side  of  the  cone.  Explosions  were 
numerous,  almost  continuous,  while  all  the  time  the  rushing,  roar- 
ing sound  of  the  fire  fountains  filled  the  air.  Wonderful  as  was 
this  sight,  the  view  of  the  river  of  fire  was  not  less  so.  It  rushed 
through  the  opening  at  the  speed  of  a  race-horse,  and,  plunging 
over  a  fall  of  perhaps  fifteen  or  twenty  feet,  went  madly  through 
a  deep  channel  down  the  side  of  the  mountain.  It  rushed  along 
with  such  force  that  the  surface  was  marked  with  undulations  like 
the  waves  of  the  sea." 

C.  W.  BALDWIN'S  OBSERVATIONS. 

The  visit  of  the  brothers,  C.  W.  and  E.  D.  Baldwin,  followed 
that  of  Professor  Wood,  not  far  from  the  I2th  of  July.  From  a 
prolonged  sketch  the  following  items  are  gathered:  The  whole 
region  about  the  active  cone  was  a  tough  network  of  new  flows, 
and  they  appeared  to  have  gone  in  every  direction.  The  sounds 
increased  as  we  came  nearer,  but  they  were  only  such  as  would 
come  from  a  violently  tossing  mass  of  liquid  matter.  They  did 
not  speak  of  the  explosions  that  were  reported  later.  The  third 
cone  is  only  a  stone's  throw  from  the  latest  active  one.  The  lava 
which  was  thrown  into  the  air  went  up  in  a  red-hot  mass,  but 
turned  black  as  it  fell.  Pumice  was  noted  among  the  products  of 
the  eruption.  There  were  two  or  three  light  earthquake  shocks 
when  the  flow  stopped. 

PROFESSOR  INGALL'S  OBSERVATIONS. 

Professor  A.  B.  Ingalls  reached  the  eruptive  cones  by  way  of 
Mokuaweoweo,  starting  from  Kona,  on  the  west  side  of  Hawaii. 
The  route  was  more  difficult  than  the  approach  from  the  Kau 
side.  He  found  the  upper  cone  to  be  "merely  a  smoldering  heap, 
while  the  lower  and  farther  one  was  the  real  fountain-like  crater." 
*  *  *  The  upper  one  "had  the  shape  of  a  truncated  cone,  with 
a  deep  gash  on  the  upper  side,  in  which  we  could  plainly  see  hot 
rock.  From  this  vent,  as  well  as  from  the  top  of  the  cone,  great 
volumes  of  sulphurous  steam  poured  forth.  The  trade-wind  car- 
ried these  fumes  over  the  southwest  side,  compelling  us  to  pass 
along  the  north  and  east  of  this  pile  on  our  way  down  to  the 
spouting  crater."  On  the  north  there  was  a  deep  layer  of  sponge- 


136 

like  pumice,  which  impeded  progress,  like  deep  sand.  The  lava 
had  flowed  down  as  "aa,"  and  the  same  clinker  material  filled  the 
region  between  the  cones.  "The  display  was  a  continuous  lava 
fountain  without  cessation.  Rocks  were  ever  rising  from  or  fall- 
ing back  into  the  mighty  cauldron,  and  yet  the  shapes  of  the  pieces 
and  the  general  structure  and  outline  of  the  masses  as  they  stood 
for  an  instant  before  commencing  to  fall  back  into  the  seething 
pit  was  never  twice  alike;  so  with  the  clouds  of  vapor."  At  one 
time  it  was  a  dome  pinnacled  by  a  column  of  flame;  at  another, 
an  Eiffel  tower  stood  in  outline  for  an  instant  and  then  fell  back 
in  a  heap  of  ruins. 

On  the  return  Professor  Ingalls  and  his  party  were  in  danger 
of  being  enveloped  in  and  strangled  by  the  sulphurous  fumes. 

STATEMENTS  BY  W.  R.  CASTLE. 

The  estimates  given  by  the  Honorable  W.  R.  Castle  agree  with 
those  already  quoted.  At  night  an  occasional  heavy  thud  gave 
evidence  of  the  proximity  of  a  live  volcano.  He  says : 

"The  cone  is  probably  two  hundred  and  fifty  or  three  hundred 
feet  across  the  top,  and  is  filled  with  a  restless,  surging  mass  of 
white-hot  lava,  always  leaping  into  the  air,  sometimes  rising  to  a 
height  of  two  hundred  feet.  Explosions  are  continuous.  Now 
and  then  a  heavy  volume  of  white  smoke  is  literally  shot  into  the 
air.  It  is  always  rising  and  rolling  away,  covering  the  island 
with  a  thin,  vapor-like  pall."  *  *  *  "In  two  seconds  an  acre 
of  ground  would  be  covered  a  foot  deep  with  lava."  *  *  * 
"Stalactites  formed  before  the  rush  wholly  dropped,  and  in  a  mo- 
ment they  could  be  seen  hanging  from  the  roof,  still  dripping,  but 
all  bent  downstream." 

THE  VENTS  AND  FISSURES  SITUATED  UPON  A  WATER-SHED. 

The  1899  and  older  flows  started  from  near  the  crest  of  a  ridge 
or  w-:5  — *v,it  northeasterly,  including 

Pun  •  ....  TL».  ire  so  near 

the  crest  un*.  in  ils  posi  ould  cause  the  lava 

to  flow  toward  the  north  v^-,  'Kau).  The 

1899  flow  was  thought  at  one  time  to  De  mo ,  u  rt  south,  but  it 
finally  discharged  north.  In  this  respect  it  recalled  the  fact  that 
the  flow  of  1880  had  moved  in  three  directions. 

The  1899  flow  continued  to  run  till  July  26,  having  a  length  of 
fifteen  miles  and  a  width  of  about  a  mile  along  its  lower  course. 
It  consisted  chiefly  of  "aa." 

Extensive  fissures  follow  the  crest  of  the  ridge,  from  one  or 


137 

more  of  which  the  latest  discharges  have  proceeded.  Some  of 
them  may  be  followed  for  miles,  both  up  and  down,  but  none 
have  been  reported  immediately  adjacent  to  Mokuaweoweo. 
Corresponding  crevices  have  been  described  as  pointing  toward 
the  summit  at  Waiohinu,  Kahuku,  Kealakekua,  and  other  locali- 
ties, so  that  we  have  the  phenomenon  of  a  central  elevated  pit  with 
immense  fissures  directed  radially  from  it,  and  all  the  eruptions 
known  are  located  on  some  one  of  these  fissures. 

ATMOSPHERIC  PHENOMENA. 

A  column  of  smoke  constantly  arose  from  the  points  of  ejec- 
tion, visible  on  all  sides.  It  expanded  as  it  arose,  and  closely  re- 
sembled the  so-called  "pine  tree"  shown  on  photographs  of  erup- 
tions from  Vesuvius.  The  northeast  trade-wind  does  not  reach 
the  altitude  of  the  outbursts ;  hence  the  vapors  may  arise  vertically 
and  be  spread  out  on  all  sides  like  an  enormous  umbrella.  While 
the  south  wind  blew,  the  smoke  cloud  reached  Honolulu,  two  hun- 
dred miles  distant.  Some  people  observed  a  distinctly  sulphurous 
odor,  while  one  gentleman  asserts  that  he  had  been  clearly 
struck  in  the  face  by  particles  of  the  volcanic  dust.  July  17  the 
steamer  "Mariposa"  observed  this  smoke,  some  six  hundred  miles 
to  the  northeast.  Similarly  the  officers  of  the  "Morning  Star" 
found  themselves  unable  to  take  the  customary  observations  for 
latitude  at  an  equally  great  distance  to  the  southwest.  The  dia- 
meter of  the  area  obscured  must  have  considerably  exceeded  1,200 
miles,  as  the  observations  reported  were  much  to  the  north  of  the 
major  axis. 

It  was  also  interesting  to  observe  the  presence  of  an  enormous 
cumulus  cloud  directly  over  the  crater  of  Mokuaweoweo.  This 
was  developed  by  the  rising  of  heated  vapors  from  the  summit 
crater  coming  in  contact  with  a  cooler  atmosphere;  and  was  ob- 
served by  myself  July  14  and  15  from  Kau. 

Of  other  notices  of  similar  clouds  is  that  by  a  member  of  the 
Challenger  expedition  in  1875,  which  see,  ante;  and  by  W.  L. 
Green  in  1881,  over  a  flat  to  the  west  of  Hilo  where  the  lava  had 
got  dammed  up  in  its  course.  In  the  daytime  a  waterspout  is 
seen  descending  from  the  cloud,  while  the  lower  end  is  being 
driven  off  in  steam  by  contact  with  the  hot  rocks.  By  night  the 
cloud  has  a  blood-red  color.  Mr.  Green  ascribed  the  phenomena 
to  the  indraught  of  moisture-laden  air  towards  the  heated  area — 
the  vapors  being  condensed  when  they  arrive  over  a  cooler 
stratum. 

Analogous  appearances  have  been  seen  in  connection  with  fires, 


138 

as  in  the  case  of  the  Chelsea,  Mass.,  conflagration  of  April  12, 
1908.  A.  L.  Rotch  says  the  air  was  rather  dry  that  day  so  that  the 
formation  of  the  cumulus  clouds  some  few  miles  high  was  not  so 
easy.  B.  M.  Varney  says  these  cumuli  were  imperfectly  formed, 
and  they  did  not  appear  directly  over  the  fire,  but  a  considerable 
distance  to  the  leeward.  In  December,  1896,  clouds  were  more 
perfectly  formed  over  the  burning  of  a  coal  pocket  belonging  to 
the  Boston  and  Maine  Railroad  Company. — Science,  May  15,  1908. 

Concerning  the  appearances  in  Mokuaweoweo  July  13,  Pro- 
fessor Ingalls  writes: 

"The  floor  of  the  crater  was  of  black  lava,  to  all  appearance 
precisely  like  that  of  Kilauea,  with  a  few  rough  patches  here  and 
there  which  I  believe  was  'aa.'  Extending  in  a  direction  roughly 
parallel  with  the  west  wall,  from  the  talus  at  the  base  of  the  lower 
terrace  at  the  north  pretty  nearly  to  the  gap  in  the  south,  there 
stretched  a  crack  in  the  crater  floor,  all  points  of  which  lay 
slightly  west  of  the  medial  north-and-south  axis.  From  various 
places  along  this  fissure  rose  up  nearly  all  the  signs  of  the  exist- 
ence of  the  volcanic  fires  beneath,  these  evidences  being  sickly 
jets  of  steam,  rising  in  such  a  manner  as  to  suggest  no  urgency 
from  below ;  also  at  the  bottom  of  the  southwest  wall  the  talus  ap- 
pears to  be  undergoing  a  transformation  into  sulphur  banks. 
There  was  nothing  in  the  appearance  of  this  summit  crater  to 
warrant  an  assumption  that  at  this  very  time,  at  the  depth  of 
3,000  to  3,500  feet  below  the  level  of  this  flood,  there  was  a  genu- 
ine volcano  in  terrific  eruption."  28 

MOKUAWEOWEO  IN  1903. 

Professor  Edgar  Wood  gave  a  brief  account  of  a  display  from 

the  summit  in  October.     On  Monday  the  5th  instant  the  British 

^Ui'n  Qrmsery  noticed  a  boiling  of  the  sea  of!  the  Kona  coast  of 

Hawaii,      The  temperature  rose  and  the  ship  received  a  shock 

a  tidal  wave.     October  6th  a  column  of  smoke  was  ob- 

/serve  irom  Mokua  ~M  to  be  two  miles  high  and 

three-i^.  e  seemed  to  be  a  stream  of 

lava  flowing  down  i^  Kona 

Surveyors  Baldwin  and  -Uo^te  ted  what  se*v  >d  to  be  a 

flow  on  the  west  side  of  the  mountain  towards  Kahuku.  "The 
smoke  from  the  summit  rose  in  three  columns,  two  small  and  one 
large.  The  columns  were  aligned  almost  due  east  and  west.  The 
larger  column  was  on  the  east  towards  Hamakua.  The  columns 
as  they  rose,  united  to  form  one  great  column  that  rose  to  a  great 


28  Hawaiian  Annual  for  1900. 


OF  THE 

UNIVERSITY 


139 

height,  and  in  some  cases  spread  out  like  a  great  umbrella,  the 
under  part  reflecting  the  dull  glow  of  the  fires  beneath.  *  *  * 
The  lava  in  the  crater  showed  along  a  line  running  through  the 
crater  northwest  to  southeast.  There  were  three  principal  fire- 
fountains  from  which  the  lava  flowed  over  the  crater  floor." 
Steam  issued  from  a  multitude  of  points  over  the  whole  floor, 
It  is  said  that  the  floor  rose  three  hundred  feet  and  then  settled 
back  again.  The  last  glow  was  seen  December  7th  at  10  P.  M. — 
American  Geologist,  Vol.  34,  1904. 

In  the  record  book  of  the  Volcano  House  under  the  date  of 
October  I3th,  T.  C.  Ridgeway  has  given  rough  sketches  of  the 
appearances  in  the  floor  of  the  caldera  corresponding  to  the  state- 
ments above.  The  lake  was  said  to  be  half  a  mile  in  diameter, 
and  the  number  of  fire-fountains  from  twenty-five  to  thirty,  play- 
ing to  the  height  of  five  hundred  feet.  The  flow  extended  for 
two  miles  upon  the  northwestern  part  of  the  floor  of  the  crater. 
Plate  22  represents  this  eruption. 

The  editor  of  the  Hilo  Tribune  reported  the  following  condi- 
tions upon  Wednesday,  October  2ist:  There  was  a  large  foun- 
tain in  the  center  hurling  to  great  heights  much  molten  lava  and 
hot  boulders :  smaller  masses  were  accumulating  upon  both  sides. 
In  the  night  the  large  central  cone  exploded  and  fell  to  pieces,  and 
was  replaced  the  next  day  by  a  dozen  lively  geysers.  A  new 
pyramid  was  built  up  from  them,  from  which  there  'emanated 
sprays  of  fire,  compared  to  a  group  of  sportive  mermaids  from  an 
ocean.  Their  lithe,  bright  forms  bowed  and  bent  themselves,  and 
disappeared  in  the  darkness  only  to  be  followed  by  dozens  and 
scores  of  other  fairies  who  kept  up  the  fire  dance  all  night."  The 
scene  was  also  compared  to  a  cathedral  of  many  spires ;  soon  re- 
placed by  a  single  lofty  spire,  which  would  fade  in  its  turn  and  be 
replaced  by  others. 

Upon  November  24th  the  sea  was  disturbed  at  Punaluu,  unac- 
countable waves  rising  suddenly  where  it  had  been  smooth  before 
and  lasting  for  ten  minutes.  At  the  same  moment  a  black  column 
of  unusual  size  arose  from  Mokuaweoweo. 

December  31,  M.  A.  Hauschild  reported  that  the  only  signs  of 
activity  were  a  few  clouds  of  steam  rising  from  the  eastern  and 
southern  parts  of  the  caldera. 

MOKTTAWEOWEO  IN  1905. 

Prof.  Willis  T.  Pope,  of  Honolulu,  has  kindly  favored  us  with  a 
brief  sketch  of  his  ascent  of  Mauria  Loa  in  1905.  The  route  was 
different  from  that  essayed  by  any  of  the  earlier  explorers,  and 
for  some  reasons  it  is  preferable  to  the  others. 


140 

Our  party  for  the  trip  to  Mokuaweoweo  on  Mauna  Loa  con- 
sisted of  three  persons:  Joseph  Caspar,  the  guide,  Mr.  R.  O. 
Reiner,  and  myself.  We  started  from  Napoopoo  on  the  west  coast 
of  Hawaii  at  about  6 130  A.  M.,  July  i6th.  Each  rode  a  mule,  and 
our  supplies  for  the  trip  were  carried  on  a  pack  mule. 

From  our  starting  point  little  could  be  seen  of  Mauna  Loa  on 
account  of  the  timber  and  great  mass  of  clouds  that  floated  above 
its  summit.  The  trail  led  up  a  constant  incline  through  the  guava 
bushes.  Soon  it  entered  a  region  covered  with  a  dense  growth  of 
koa  and  ohia  forest.  The  soil  was  rich  and  dark  in  color,  and 
showed  Lut  little  evidence  of  having  been  a  lava  flow;  however, 
we  could  occasionally  distinguish  where  the  flows  of  aa  had  been 
by  the  more  dense  growth  of  plant  life.  About  eleven  o'clock 
we  reached  the  Greenwell  dairy,  a  ranch  house  where  our  ten 
gallon  water  tank  was  filled.  From  this  point  the  woods  seemed 
to  grow  more  scanty  and  the  koa  trees  less  numerous.  About  2 
P.  M.  we  halted  near  a  clump  of  trees  and  made  our  camp.  This 
was  the  highest  point  where  we  could  find  good  grass  for  the 
mules.  The  elevation  is  about  7,00x3  feet.  There  was  no  wind 
and  the  woods  were  silent,  very  few  birds  were  to  be  seen  or 
heard.  The  wild  hogs  that  are  said  to  be  so  numerous  kept  out 
of  sight,  but  there  was  evidence  of  their  having  rooted  in  the 
patches  of  soil  before  we  appeared.  The  night  was  cool  and  the 
thermometer  registered  43°  in  the  early  morning.  By  6  A.  M. 
we  were  again  packed  and  off.  The  trail  soon  entered  upon  the 
naked  lava  where  we  could  get  a  good  view  of  the  entire  western 
slope  of  Mauna  Loa  and  also  a  grand  view  of  Hualalai.  The  en- 
tire mountain  side  is  composed  of  a  vast  field  of  pahoehoe  sepa- 
rated by  great  flows  of  aa.  Here  the  lava  is  grayish  black  in 
color  and  much  broken  up  due  to  weathering.  There  are  no  indi- 
cations whatever  of  gulches,  but  occasionally  there  are  great 
caverns  large  enough  to  ride  into  on  horseback.  The  flows  of  aa 
become  so  numerous  that  it  is  difficult  to  find  a  way  around  the 
various  peninsulas  of  it.  On  one  of  these  large  rivers  of  aa  there 
are  nine  different  cones  or  blowholes  that  are  from  fifty  to  one 
hundred  feet  across  and  of  about  the  same  height.  In  many  places 
the  lava  has  flown  down  in  narrow  streams  looking  like  planta- 
tion ditches.  The  mules  would  often  follow  in  these  ditches  for 
several  hundred  yards  until  it  was  necessary  to  get  out  on  ac- 
count of  the  stirrups  striking  the  sides,  or  the  mules  breaking 
through  into  cavities  below.  The  aa  became  much  more  numer- 
ous as  we  approached  the  summit,  and  the  last  mile  or  more 
was  made  through  a  flow  of  it.  All  of  these  upper  flows 
appear  as  fresh  as  if  they  had  just  been  formed.  From  this 
Kona  side  the  angle  is  about  the  same  until  the  top  is  reached 


and  we  came  upon  the  edge  of  the  top  crater  rather  unexpectedly 
to  me. 

We  arrived  at  the  edge  of  Mokuaweoweo  at  2  :2o  P.  M.,  having 
made  the  trip  in  a  little  over  sixteen  hours,  counting  out  the  night 
spent  at  the  timber  line.  We  were  now  near  the  highest  point 
on  the  west  side,  13,675  feet,  and  made  our  camp  in  less  than  a 
hundred  feet  of  the  edge.  All  along  the  edge  there  were  many 
huge  cracks  varying  in  width  and  depth.  In  one  place  a  crack  is 
over  a  hundred  feet  in  width.  Many  of  the  narrow  cracks  con- 
tain great  masses  of  ice  some  twenty  or  thirty  feet  below  the  sur- 
face which  has  formed  from  the  snow  that  fills  them  during  the 
winter  months.  The  noon-day  sun  melts  little  pools  in  the  tops  of 
these  ice  masses  and  from  these  we  got  good  drinking  water. 

After  a  hearty  dinner  we  walked  along  the  edge  toward  the 
south  end  of  the  crater.  The  great  walls  are  quite  vertical,  highly 
colored  and  in  general  appear  much  more  grand  than  the  walls 
of  Kilauea.  Along  this  side  it  is  supposed  to  be  from  500  to 
1,000  feet  to  the  bottom  inside.  There  was  smoke  and  steam 
arising  from  many  cracks  in  the  crater  and  near  the  south  end 
there  was  quite  a  dense  column  creeping  up  the  side  and  gently 
floating  toward  the  southwest.  During  our  entire  stay  on  Mauna 
Loa  there  was  no  wind.  By  sundown  we  were  back  to  our  camp — 
the  sunset  was  not  a  very  grand  one — and  soon  we  were  wrapped 
in  our  blankets.  None  of  us  slept  well  during  the  cold  night :  all 
seemed  to  have  a  headache.  The  thermometer  registered  27°. 

Next  morning  we  were  up  early  and  after  an  attempt  to  drink 
some  strong-  coffee  we  were  off  toward  the  north  end  of  the  crater 
and  looking  for  a  place  to  get  down  inside,  which  was  found.  In 
order  to  get  down  we  were  compelled  to  climb  among  the  great 
boulders  that  seemed  very  dangerous.  At  first  the  bottom  was 
rather  smooth  but  grew  rough  as  we  got  nearer  the  large  crater. 
We  went  down  three  different  ledges  each  two  hundred  or  three 
hundred  feet  in  depth.  The  floor  got  rougher  as  we  advanced, 
great  ugly  masses  of  twisted  lava  were  interspersed  with  cracks 
and  holes,  and  it  had  the  appearance  of  having  been  burned  or 
rather  charred  too  much,  and  it  cracked  and  crushed  as  we  walked 
over  it.  From  cracks  and  blowholes  steam  and  sulphur  smoke 
came  out.  Near  the  center  is  a  cone  about  two  hundred  feet 
high.  This  cone  is  streaked  with  sulphur  which  gives  it  a  very 
pretty  appearance. 

We  returned  by  very  much  the  same  route  as  we  had  gone  in. 
On  both  trips  about  the  crater  we  noticed  huge  boulders,  as  large 
as  barrels,  that  had  been  scattered  here  and  there  upon  the  lava 
outside  the  crater.  They  were  of  a  yellow  clay  color  and  some 


142 

quite  red.  Some  of  these  had  broken  through  the  lava  until  they 
were  almost  buried,  showing  that  they  must  have  dropped  from  a 
great  height;  and  they  were  entirely  unlike  the  lava  into  which 
they  had  fallen. 

Progress  was  very  slow;  though  we  did  not  rest  very  long  at 
any  place,  our  pedometer  only  recorded  about  a  mile  per  hour. 
On  reaching  our  camp  we  packed  and  started  down  at  once  about 
ii  130  A.  M.  The  journey  down  was  pleasant  and  we  felt  better 
as  we  advanced.  No  attempt  was  made  to  camp  and  eat  as  no 
one  cared  for  food.  We  traveled  thirty-one  hours  without  food. 
Reached  the  Greenwell  ranch  about  ten  o'clock  in  a  downpour  of 
rain. 

NOTES  UPON  THE  KAHTJKU  LAVA-FLOW  OF  1907. 

BY  S.  E.  BISHOP. 

The  earliest  intimation  of  this  great  eruption  was  im- 
mediately after  midnight,  opening  January  loth,  when  a  power- 
ful glare  was  observed  at  Hilo,  over  the  caldera  of  Mokuaweo- 
weo,  on  the  summit  of  Mauna  Loa,  forty  miles  distant.  This  evi- 
dently proceeded  from  a  copious  emission  of  lava  upon  the  floor 
of  the  crater. 

That  glare  appears  to  have  abated  after  about  three  hours,  per- 
haps obscured  by  smoke,  but  more  probably  owing  to  the  trans- 
ference of  activity  to  the  Kahuku  district.  There,  about  4  A.  M. 
on  the  loth,  burst  forth  enormous  fountains  of  lava,  flowing 
rapidly  down  the  mountain  slope.  The  precise  location  of  this 
eruptive  source  has  not  been  accurately  located.  It  has,  however, 
been  visited.  It  is  believed  to  be  about  8,500  feet  above  the  sea 
and  nearly  half  way  from  Puu  o  Keokeo  to  the  summit  of  Mauna 
Loa.  Keokeo  is  a  prominent  cone  on  the  top  of  the  great  Kahuku 
shoulder  of  Mauna  Loa,  altitude  6,300  feet  and  twenty  miles 
S.S.W.  from  Mokuaweoweo.  The  flow  of  1887  broke  out  a 
short  distance  below  Keokeo.  This  new  flow  starts  eight  or  nine 
miles  above  Keokeo. 

Its  source  seems  to  be  on  the  slight  ridge  stretching  up  from 
Keokeo,  from  which  the  land  falls  off  on  either  side.  Several 
small  branches  were  observed  to  the  east  and  west.  The  main 
flow  at  first  took  a  route  east  of  Keokeo,  soon  invading  the  area 
occupied  by  the  flow  of  1887.  It  seems  to  have  crossed  the  upper 
part  of  the  latter,  continuing  to  occupy  the  west  border  thereof 
until  below  the  Government  road  seven  miles  from  the  sea,  cross- 
ing the  road  early  on  the  I3th. 


143 

The  bulk  of  the  flow  appears  about  that  time  to  have  been 
diverted  to  the  west  side  of  Keokeo,  forming  what  is  called  the 
Manuka  flow  from  the  name  of  the  district  invaded  by  it.  It 
came  down  with  great  rapidity  and  force,  crossing  the  road  during 
the  night  of  the  I4th.  There  were  some  two  hundred  white  ob- 
servers, gathered  from  the  northern  and  western  parts  of  the 
island. 

This  division  of  force  prevented  either  branch  of  the  flow  from 
reaching  the  sea,  as  did  the  eruptions  of  '68  and  '87.  They 
stopped  three  or  four  miles  short  of  the  shore,  but  while  still  in 
motion  were  observed  on  their  fronts  by  some  two  hundred  and 
fifty  passengers  from  Honolulu,  who  went  up  on  steamers,  landing 
immediately  below.  The  general  map  of  Hawaii,  Plate  14,  shows 
the  course  of  this  flow,  and  Plate  23  its  end. 

NATURE'S  PYROTECHNICS. 

BY  DR.  A.  S.  BAKER. 

As  we  sat  at  breakfast  at  Kamuela  on  Thursday  morning, 
January  loth,  1907,  the  Chinese  cook  remarked,  "Plenty  fire  on 
Mauna  Loa  last  night."  True  enough,  as  several  servants  re- 
ported, though  but  few  others  at  Kamuela  saw  it.  *  *  *  On 
Saturday  night  at  our  home  in  Kona  the  glow  was  bright  but  well 
down  on  the  side  of  Mauna  Loa.  The  flow  had  evidently  pro- 
ceeded underground  and  broken  out  afresh  at  an  elevation  of  per- 
haps 7,000  or  8,000  feet  near  Puu  Ohohia.  From  this  later  open- 
ing has  poured  the  fiery  flood  which  in  two  streams  has  buried 
the  Government  road,  destroyed  the  telephone  line,  and  it  is  re- 
ported, has  again  united  below,  spreading  over  the  flatter  coun- 
try some  little  way  above  the  ocean. 

Earthquakes  have  been  slight  and  few  in  number  in  Kona, 
though  many  little  ones  were  reported  in  Kau.  The  earthquakes 
began  just  a  little  before  the  outbreak,  and  the  last  one  observed 
by  me  occurred  on  Sunday,  January  29.29  Since  then  the  flow 
has  been  dying,  and  after  two  weeks  from  the  beginning  the  flow 
is  reported  over,  and  our  energetic  Telephone  Company  has  man- 
aged to  string  its  wires  across  the  Manuka  flow,  ready  to  open 
communication  again  with  Kau. 

Sometime  during  the  night  of  Saturday,  January  I2th,  the 
first  stream  crossed  the  road,  at  an  elevation  of  perhaps  1,800  feet 


89  Another  authority  says  "the  eruption  was  preceded  by  earthquakes 
of  unusual  character  which  continued  at  intervals  till  the  llth,  seven 
being  felt  at  Kau  on  the  closing  date. ' ' — Thrum. 


144 

above  the  sea,  for  on  Sunday  morning  no  telephone  message  could 
be  sent  over  the  telephone  line  to  Kau.  Early  Monday  we  started 
for  the  scene,  some  thirty-six  miles  from  home  and  about  five 
miles  south  of  the  Kona  line.  A  few  had  visited  this  flow  on 
Sunday  night,  but  Monday  was  the  greatest  day  of  all — both  for 
magnificence  and  variety  of  display  and  for  the  crowd  present, 
which  I  estimated  at  about  one  hundred  and  fifty.  All  kinds  of 
vehicles  were  seen  in  use,  from  an  automobile  to  an  old  family 
brake  driven  tandem,  with  one  boy  perched  on  the  forward  horse. 
The  stream  of  people  poured  in  until  midnight. 

We  arrived  just  at  dark  and  prepared  to  camp  under  the  open 
sky  a  fourth  of  a  mile  from  the  flow,  on  a  little  rise  beside  the 
tent  of  Mr.  Aungst,  who  had  remained  over  in  charge  of  the  tele- 
phone. Every  one  could  enjoy  this  most  awe-inspiring  sight,  al- 
though it  was  a  quiet  enjoyment  as  far  as  noise  went.  The  flow 
was  also  quiet,  for  but  little  sound  could  be  heard  beyond  the  con- 
stant clink  of  falling  stones  as  the  front  wall  of  solid  fire  advanced, 
or  an  occasional  rushing  sound  from  the  central  molten  stream, 
or  a  faint  explosion  of  gas.  We  could  enjoy  it  because  we  were 
all  in  comparative  safety  and  the  flow  was  doing  very  little  dam- 
age because  of  its  position  on  still  older  flows. 

Once  before  I  have  felt  something  of  the  same  awe,  and  that 
was  on  beholding  the  results  of  the  wearing  force  of  water,  as 
viewed  from  the  brink  of  that  stupendous  canyon  of  the  Colorado 
River  in  Arizona,  which  is  over  a  mile  deep  and  hundreds  of  miles 
long.  Here  in  Mauna  Loa  we  have  the  absolutely  irresistible 
force  of  fire,  and  one  felt  it  overwhelmingly  as  he  watched  it  ad- 
vance straight  towards  him.  As  I  stood  but  a  few  feet  in  front 
of  the  slowly  advancing  snout  of  this  writhing  fiery  monster,  I 
could  only  say  to  myself,  "What  is  man,  that  thou  art  mindful  of 
of  him?"  and  feel  with  Micah,  "Behold,  Jehovah  cometh  forth 
out  of  his  place,  and  will  come  down,  and  tread  upon  the  high 
places  of  the  earth.  And  the  mountains  shall  be  melted  under 
him,  and  the  valleys  shall  be  cleft,  as  was  before  the  fire,  as  waters 
that  are  poured  down  a  steep  place."  And  to  remember  that  the 
other  side  of  this  same  mountain  summit  is  covered  with  glisten- 
ing snow ! 

We  had  hoped  to  reach  the  first  flow  which  had  crossed  the  road 
already,  but  a  glance  at  the  one  now  advancing  showed  us  how 
fool-hardy  would  be  such  an  attempt.  The  first  flow  was  in  Ka- 
huku,  in  the  flow  of  1887  and  overlapping  it  toward  Kona.  This 
was  reported  to  have  flowed  almost  molten  and  very  rapidly,  and 
it  was  said  to  be  from  a  half  to  a  mile  or  more  wide.  Our  flow 
was  about  six  miles  this  way  on  the  Manuka  lands.  At  5  130 


145 

P.  M.  when  we  arrived,  it  was  perhaps  a  half  mile  above  the  road, 
but  by  midnight  it  was  far  below.  It  crossed  the  road  about  9 
P.  M.,  covering  the  road  where  we  stood  so  shortly  before  to  a 
depth  of  twenty-five  feet  and  more  with  its  glowing  rocks.  The 
very  front  part  was  an  almost  perpendicular  wall  about  fifteen 
feet  high,  for  it  did  not  quite  reach  the  top  of  the  eighteen  foot 
telephone  poles,  which  were  soon  in  a  blaze  as  the  wires  parted. 

We  could  see  this  flow  for  some  ten  or  fifteen  miles  from  the 
opening,  marked  by  the  red  changing  glow  on  the  clouds  of  sul- 
phurous vapor  and  smoke.  It  was  probably  some  two-thirds  of  a 
mile  wide,  and  showed  us  all  kinds  of  phenomena.  Its  movement 
varied  greatly,  for  though  advancing  with  scarcely  perceptible 
motion  for  some  time,  it  later  crossed  the  road  with  a  sudden  rush 
and  hastened  below.  This  movement  was  not  at  all  dependent 
upon  the  slope  of  the  ground,  but  on  the  varying  amount  of  ma- 
terial conveyed  from  the  source.  A  friend  called  my  attention  to> 
the  glacier-like  resemblance  of  the  fiery  front  and  edges  with  its. 
cooler  blackened  top  constantly  falling  over  as  it  advanced.  After 
this  mass  of  seething  aa  passed,  the  center  seemed  to  run  a  molten 
stream  carrying  down  huge  masses  of  all  shapes  and  sizes,  red-hot 
or  cooling  in  all  stages.  At  times  every  one  was  reminded  of  a 
stately  procession  of  massive  ships,  or  again  of  a  river  at  flood 
bearing  away  houses  and  people.  Above  us  appeared  rapids 
where  the  waves  of  fire  tumbled  and  broke  into  fiery  spray,  and 
again  there  was  a  hill  which  formed  a  breastwork  at  one  side  be- 
hind which  the  flood  gathered  until  a  more  copious  flow  over- 
topped it  to  spread  a  solid  sheet  of  flame  in  a  huge  semi-circle  to 
its  base.  Again  and  again  through  the  night  this  would  cool,  and 
again  and  again  overflow.  The  whole  surface  of  the  stream  was 
constantly  changing,  black  or  fiery,  at  places  resembling  nothing 
so  much  as  the  lights  of  an  enormous  city,  especially  that  portion 
below  us.  The  scattered  trees  burned  here  and  there  in  its  course, 
and  the  whole  region  for  miles  about  was  turned  from  night  almost 
into  day.  For  the  first  few  days,  until  smoke  filled  all  the  air, 
I  could  tell  time  on  these  moonless  nights  when  in  my  room  over 
thirty  miles  away.  Little  fiery  explosions  arose  here  and  there 
on  the  flood,  and  occasional  short  side  flows  appeared.  The  heat 
was  intense  on  nearing  the  flow  and  a  fine  cindery  dust  parched 
the  air,  but  we  were  fortunate  in  having  a  strong  breeze  to  drive 
off  the  smoke  from  our  side,  although  occasional  hot  eddies  were 
whirled  about  us.  Heat  radiations  kept  all  the  air  aquiver,  and 
for  sometime  after  our  return  home  our  eyes  felt  badly,  and  every 
light  quivered  and  twinkled. 

The  scene  by  daylight  was  nothing  compared  to  the  scene  by 


i46 

night.  Fire  scarcely  showed  at  all,  and  one  could  almost  step 
upon  the  flow  without  knowing  it,  were  it  not  for  the  still 
quavering  radiations  of  heat.  The  clink  of  falling  stones  was  still 
heard  from  the  sides,  but  the  appearance  was  only  of  a  huge  ridge 
blackened  by  a  fire  which  had  passed,  although  the  trees  were 
still  burning  in  the  distance. — From  The  Friend,  February,  1907. 

The  lava  at  the  original  place  of  emission  had  cooled  before  the 
second  flow  commenced ;  but  there  was  a  continuous  line  of  vapors 
along  the  line  (fault)  between  the  two  openings.  At  the  upper 
outlet  the  material  was  pahoehoe  changing  to  aa  lower  down. 
The  same  was  true  of  the  lava  from  the  second  outlet,  which  was 
aa  at  the  crossing  of  the  Government  road  from  fifteen  to  thirty 
feet  thick.  At  the  lower  end  it  had  become  over  fifty  feet  thick. 

The  party  were  able  to  look  down  from  near  Keokeo  into  a 
lake  of  red  hot  lava  eight  hundred  feet  in  diameter,  and  saw  two 
holes  in  the  bluff  out  of  which  the  stream,  was  issuing.  Near  the 
sea  shore  there  was  a  fountain  fifty  to  sixty  feet  high.  The  flow 
ceased  January  24. 

Hon.  G.  C.  Hewitt  viewed  the  spectacle  from  the  Kau  side  on 
the  last  night  of  its  activity.  A  large  lake,  half  a  mile  long  ac- 
cumulated from  the  stream,  but  was  not  permanent.  "Shortly 
after  forming  there  began  to  arise  upon  the  surface  many  vivid 
flashes,  tree-shaped,  but  fluttering  rapidly  and  becoming  so 
numerous  as  to  finally  merge  into  one  broad  sheet  of  flame.  These 
flashes  were  of  the  most  vivid  colors  of  the  rainbow,  and  con- 
tinued from  one  end  to  the  other."  *  *  *  "Meanwhile,  ap- 
parently about  a  mile  away  and  slightly  lower  in  elevation,  in 
a  deep  gulch,  a  hill  began  to  form,  growing  rapidly  and  becoming 
as  it  grew  of  a  dull  reddish  form.  This  hill  increased  to  an  im- 
mense size  and  widened  till  it  was  as  large  as  Diamond  Head." 
Later  the  hill  began  to  crumble  and  the  whole  mass  flattened  out 
down  the  side  of  the  mountain,  covering  a  territory  a  mile  wide 
with  aa.  There  were  other  masses  of  aa  spreading  over  the  moun- 
tain side. 

Simultaneously  with  the  cessation  of  this  flow  near  Kahuku 
Kilauea  renewed  her  activity,  said  to  exceed  any  of  her  wakeful 
periods  since  1894.  Halemaumau  filled  up  very  noticeably. 

Sept.  10,  1907.  The  following  is  from  the  record  book  of  the 
Volcano  House.  At  6 145  A.  M.,  a  very  black  cloud  over  the  top  of 
Mauna  Loa,  with  flashes  of  lightning.  At  7:45  the  cloud  began 
to  disappear,  spreading  out  into  a  fan  and  growing  thinner. 
8:30 — Cloud  all  gone.  People  at  the  Mahogany  Lumber  Com- 
pany's mill  saw  three  large  columns  of  flame  through  this  cloud. 
Sept.  n,  4  A.  M. — From  this  mill  a  pronounced  flow  was  seen 
on  the  other  side  of  Red  Hill. 


FOSSIL  TREES  IN  LAVA. 

In  the  definition  of  fossils  it  is  expressly  stated  that  the  im- 
pressions made  by  organisms  upon  other  substances  must  be  in- 
cluded as  well  as  where  portions  of  the  animated  object  had  been 
preserved.  Thus  a  footmark  proves  the  former  existence  of  an 
animal  as  truly  as  a  bone.  In  Hawaii  we  have  the  impressions 
made  by  the  stumps  of  trees  upon  the  encircling  lava,  where  the 
heated  streams  flowed  through  a  forest.  One  would  think  that 
the  trees  would  be  entirely  destroyed,  but  as  a  forest  fire  leaves 
behind  the  stubs  of  trees  unconsumed  and  standing  like  senti- 
nels, so  the  lava  streams  have  been  unable  to  burn  the  green 
wood  of  the  interior.  The  simplest  case  is  where  a  stream  has 
pushed  its  way  rapidly  through  the  trees.  All  the  brushwood, 
branches,  bark  and  leaves  are  consumed,  but  the  heart  of  the  tree 
refuses  to  yield,  and  the  trunks  are  coated  with  lava.  In  other 
cases  the  branches  have  caught  bits  of  lava  that  have  been  sprayed 
upon  them.  Such  an  example  is  illustrated  in  Plate  32  where 
the  lava  has  adhered  to  the  trees  twenty  feet  above  ground.  This 
was  in  the  1868  eruption  at  Kilauea  iki  and  these  evidences  of 
the  flow  were  visible  there  for  more  than  twenty  years. 

The  next  stage  is  where  the  lava  has  completely  'enveloped  the 
trees  and  solidified  around  the  trunks.  In  the  case  of  the  material 
falling  as  ashes  the  stumps  will  be  enclosed  in  a  similar  manner 
and  be  better  preserved,  as  seen  at  Moanalua,  on  Oahu,  by  the 
side  of  the  railroad  (Plate  6,  Fig.  2,  Geology  of  Oahu).  These 
were  compared  with  the  casts  of  Carboniferous  trees  found  at  the 
Joggins  in  Nova  Scotia,  which  were  surrounded  by  thick  strata 
of  sand.  After  the  decay  of  the  trees  deep  holes  took  their 
places  into  which  amphibians  fell  and  were  entombed  by  a  later 
deposit  of  sand,  and  the  trunks  were  replaced  by  solid  sandstone. 
Usually  after  the  decay  of  the  trees  only  cylindrical  holes  are  left, 
upon  whose  walls  may  be  seen  the  imprint  of  charcoal  and  occa- 
sionally some  of  the  charred  wood.  Rarely  new  forms  or  other 
plants  take  root  and  grow  up  in  these  holes.  In  traversing  the 
country  away  from  any  trail  one  needs  to  take  care  to  avoid  these 
holes  for  fear  of  accidents. 

Near  Kilauea,  on  the  Shipman  ranch,  is  a  large  koa  grove  in 
which  these  tree  moulds  are  abundant,  some  of  them  five  and  six 
feet  in  diameter.  Smaller  ones  may  represent  the  locations  of  so 
many  coconut  trees.  The  lava  encircling  the  ancient  trees  prob- 
ably came  from  Kilauea,  and  may  be  twenty  feet  thick. 

In  the  district  of  Puna  may  be  seen  hundreds  of  lava  tree 
stumps  standing  erect  in  the  fields  as  pillars,  often  fifteen  feet 


148 

high.  It  cannot  be  said  that  these  pillars  originated  from  the 
filling  up  of  the  moulds,  and  then  the  lava  removed  or  that  they 
represent  basalt  encircling  stumps.  A  better  theory  is  that  of 
Mr.  Rufus  Lyman,  as  stated  by  Rev.  Mr.  Westervelt.  The  lava 
moves  among  the  trees  encircling  them  to  its  full  thickness.  Many 
will  burn  but  the  larger  ones  will  chill  the  lava  so  that  it  hardens 
around  them,  drying  the  outer  rim.  This  will  then  burn,  leav- 
ing a  small  space  around  the  tree,  which  will  receive  the  still 
plastic  lava  forced  by  the  pressure  of  the  liquid  and  make  a 
sheath  around  the  stub.  More  burning  and  more  pressure  will 
add  to  the  thickness  of  this  sheath,  so  long  as  the  conditions  suit- 
able for  the  growth  prevail.  Sometimes  two  or  three  stumps  are 
connected  by  the  lava  growth.  Plate  25  shows  one  of  these  tree 
moulds,  much  expanded  at  the  top  and  supporting  vegetation. 

The  Hawaiian  legends  relate  that  these  tree  stumps  represented 
chiefs  in  the  early  days,  who  had  been  beguiled  by  Pele  to  race 
with  her  upon  the  holua  sleds,  like  the  contest  described  earlier 
of  Kahawali.  Pele  became  indignant  when  worsted  in  the  race 
and  poured  forth  floods  of  lava  to  overwhelm  her  opponents. 
Those  who  were  caught  were  left  standing  as  pillars  all  over  the 
plain — and  many  of  the  people  were  destroyed  at  the  same  time. 
Kamapuaa,  Kamukahi  and  Papalauwahi  were  chiefs  who  were 
turned  into  tree-stumps :  and  the  date  of  their  existence  would  be 
the  time  of  a  pre-historic  eruption  from  Kilauea. 

PUT!  O  KEOKEO. 

This  mountain  is  6,870  feet  high,  rising  considerably  above  the 
normal  slope  of  Mauna  Loa  more  than  ten  miles  from  the  sea.  As 
seen  from  below  it  appears  like  a  rival  of  Mauna  Loa.  It  cannot 
be  far  from  the  fissure  of  the  1887  flow  between  Kahuku  and 
Mokuaweoweo.  Rev.  E.  P.  Baker  traveled  along  this  line  and 
found  indications  of  heat  at  various  points.  The  yellow  ash  is 
wanting  about  Keokeo,  while  there  is  plenty  of  pumice  and 
lapilli,  just  as  in  the  Kau  desert  south  of  Kilauea. 

Dr.  S.  E.  Bishop  suggests  that  this  mountain  may  be  an  active 
volcano  distinct  from  all  others,  and  that  the  eruptions  of  1868, 
1887  and  1907  came  from  it.  As  seen  from  the  sea  on  the  south- 
west side,  Keokeo  is  a  larger  mountain  than  West  Maui  back  of 
Lahaina  and  has  been  piling  up  from  local  eruptions  like  Hua- 
lalai.  Its  chief  distinction  may  have  been  that  it  was  the  seat 
of  an  explosive  eruption  when  it  threw  out  an  enormous  mass  of 
yellow  ashes,  which  covered  over  one  hundred  and  fifty  square 
miles  to  the  depth  of  ten  feet,  besides  extending  unknown 
distances  over  the  ocean. 


PLATE  25. 


Tree  Mould. 


PLATE  24. 


A.     Relief  Map  of  Mohokea  Caldera. 


B.     Lava  flowing  into  pool  of  water,  1881. 


149 

THE  MOHOKEA  CALDERA. 

Upon  the  southwest  flank  of  Mauna  Loa  the  evenness  of  the 
slope  is  interrupted  by  the  presence  of  an  irregular  pit,  as  if  the 
rock  had  been  removed  by  an  immense  scoop.  My  attention  was 
first  called  to  it  by  conversation  with  Mr.  Joseph  S.  Emerson  of 
the  Hawaiian  Trigonometrical  Survey.  He  inquired  into  the 
reason  of  the  depression,  and  the  association  with  it  of  certain 
hills  resembling  the  "Buttes"  of  the  Cordilleras  region  of  the 
United  States.  A  paper  by  him  descriptive  of  the  region  is  en- 
titled Characteristics  of  Kau,  published  in  the  American  Journal 
of  Science,  December,  1902.  I  ventured  to  call  the  depression 
the  Mohokea  Caldera  in  Volume  14  of  the  Bulletin  of  the  Geo- 
logical Society  of  America,  and  gave  a  further  account  of  it  in 
the  same  publication,  Volume  17,  after  a  second  examination  of 
the  ground  in  1905. 

In  place  of  the  map  with  contours  I  have  constructed  a  small 
relief  map  of  the  caldera  thinking  that  its  features  may  be  more 
readily  appreciated.  Plate  24A.  First  is  the  general  situation 
back  from  the  harbor  of  Punaluu  towards  Mauna  Loa.  Second, 
are  the  elevations  called  buttes.  Third,  the  valleys  running  north- 
westerly between  the  lines  of  buttes  and  the  sides  of  the  depres- 
sion. Fourth,  the  isolated  peaks  of  Kaumaikeohu  to  the  north- 
east and  Puu  Iki  on  the  north  rim. 

The  Mohokea  depression  is  situated  in  Kau,  in  the  southwest- 
ern part  of  the  island  of  Hawaii,  to  the  north  of  the  harbor  of 
Honuapo,  which  at  present  is  the  end  of  the  sea  voyage  for  those 
who  skirt  the  leeward  side  of  the  great  island  on  the  way  from 
Honolulu  to  Kilauea.  There  is  a  line  of  stages  from  Honuapo 
to  the  volcano,  rising  gradually  for  a  distance  of  thirty  miles 
to  the  altitude  of  4,040  fet.  Hilea,  about  four  miles  from  the 
seaport,  is  the  best  point  from  which  to  traverse  the  depression. 
It  is  the  residence  of  the  head  overseer  of  the  sugar  plantation, 
who  very  kindly  accompanied  me  to  the  principal  points  of  in- 
terest in  the  caldera.  From  the  house,  situated  upon  lava,  the 
road  ascends  a  steep  hill  covered  by  volcanic  ashes  to  about  1,200 
feet  altitude,  and  thence  another  thousand  feet  to  Makanao,  where 
the  soil  seems  to  have  originated  from  rock  decomposition.  This 
hill  is  on  the  southeast  side  of  Kaiholena,  the  highest  elevation 
in  the  district. 

Mauna  Loa  is  an  elongated  dome  13,650  feet  in  height,  sloping 
gradually  to  the  sea  or  to  an  intersection  with  an  adjacent  vol- 
cano. On  the  northwest  side,  next  to  Hualalai,  the  base  is  4,500 
feet ;  on  the  northeast  side,  next  to  the  extinct  Mauna  Kea,  at  the 
sheep  ranch  Humuula,  the  col  is  6,600  feet ;  on  the  southeast  side, 


next  to  Kilauea,  the  base  exceeds  4,000  feet.  The  slopes  to  the 
sea  at  Hilo  and  South  cape  are  gradual  for  distances  of  thirty 
miles.  The  mass  of  Kilauea  is  often  regarded  as  being  on  the 
flank  of  Mauna  Loa,  because  there  is  no  marked  col  between  the 
two.  Kialuea  is  as  well  defined  a  caldera,  with  its  own  periods 
of  eruption,  as  Mokuaweoweo.  The  locations  of  the  eruptions 
from  Kilauea  range  from  Nanawale,  in  Puna,  on  the  east,  to  Puna- 
luu  on  the  west,  which  is  on  the  seashore  only  three  miles  from 
Hilea.  A  very  conspicuous  fault  extends  twenty  miles  from 
Kohaualea  westerly  to  near  the  flow  of  1823.  The  land  makai 
(shoreward)  of  this  fault  has  dropped  down  1,100  feet.  A  some- 
what similar  but  more  irregular  escarpment  may  be  traced  from 
near  Kapapala  to  Waiohinu,  eighteen  miles  in  length,  but  is  on 
the  south  slope  of  the  mass  of  Mauna  Loa.  The  caldera  of 
Mohokea  has  this  escarpment  for  its  southern  boundary.  It  is  an 
elliptical  depression,  six  miles  long  northwest  and  southeast,  and 
five  miles  wide  northeast  and  southwest,  but  truncated  by  the 
escarpment  named.  It  has  been  hollowed  out  from  the  basaltic 
sheets  of  Mauna  Loa.  The  total  area  is  about  thirty  square  miles. 
Mohokea  differs  from  the  other  calderas  in  three  respects : 

1.  It  is  not  inclosed  on  all  sides,  so  as  to  be  properly  a  pit. 
It  is  open  on  the  makai  side. 

2.  There  have  been  several  flows  of  lava  from  it  on  the  open 
side.      (a)      From  the  broadest  part,  between  Puu  Enuhe  and 
Makanao.     It  is  of  aa,  and  has  flowed  down  to  the  sea  between 
Punaluu  and  an  older  similar  stream  toward  Honuapu.     It  is  evi- 
dently   comparatively    recent,    though    not    recognizable    in    the 
legends  of  the  oldest  inhabitant.     It  can  not  have  been  active  less 
than  two  centuries  ago.      (b)      A  small  aa  flow  starts  from  the 
cliff  on  the  west  side  of  the  gulch  flanking  Makanao  on  the  west. 
It  does  not  reach  quite  to  the  stage  road  at  Hilea.      It  is  very 
olivinitic  and  has  issued  from  under  the  later  pahoehoe  which 
overlies  the  yellow  ash  in  the  immediate  neighborhood     (c)    An- 
other aa  stream,  still  farther  west,  is  about  one  mile  wide  where 
it  crosses  the  road.     It  issued  from  the  cliff  on  the  west  side  of 
Makanao,  but  from  between  two  spurs  of  the  older  pahoehoe. 
Following  this  the  road  traverses  a  mile  of  pahoehoe  before  com- 
ing to  (d),  the  last  aa  flow,  one  and  a  half  miles  wide,  reaching 
to  a  short  distance  east  of  the  sugar  mill  at  Honuapo.     The  older 
aa  streams  are  covered  by  large  kukui  trees  (Cordia),  with  their 
characteristic   lighter  yellow   green   color,   rendering  them  con- 
spicuous. 

3.  The  greatest  peculiarity  in  Mohokea  consists  in  the  pres- 
ence of  two  parallel  lines  of  faulted  blocks  running  northwest 


from  the  southeastern  edge.  The  one  on  the  east  is  known  as 
Puu  Enuhe,  rising  precipitously  along  the  edge  of  the  cliff  to  the 
height  of  2,327  feet.  This  is  the  most  conspicuous  of  all  the 
blocks  and  is  the  one  most  like  the  buttes  of  the  Rocky  Mountain 
region.  The  ridge  behind  the  outer  block  falls  away  gradually 
for  nearly  three  miles,  and  then  rises  again  abruptly  to  Kulua, 
only  to  fall  away  again  as  at  first,  and  reaches  nearly  to  the  inner- 
most wall  of  the  caldera.  Viewed  from  a  distance  on  either 
flank,  the  ridge  resembles  a  huge  worm  with  a  great  head  and  a 
swelling  near  the  caudal  extremity.  This  resemblance  caught  the 
attention  of  the  early  Hawaiians,  who  recite  an  interesting  legend 
respecting  its  origin.30 

To  the  west  of  Puu  Enuhe  lies  a  valley  one  and  a  half  miles 
wide.  It  is  inhabited  by  Hawaiians  who  exhibit  characteristic 
features  of  the  life  of  the  olden  time.  They  are  highlanders  as 
contrasted  with  lowlanders.  On  the  west  side  the  valley  is  flanked 
by  stupendous  blocks,  of  which  the  first  is  Makanao,  estimated  to 
exceed  3,500  feet  in  height.  It  is  hardly  separated  from  Pakua, 
as  delineated  upon  the  Government  map  of  Hawaii,  1901.  A 
broader  notch  separates  Pakua  from  Kaiholena,  3,824  feet  high. 
There  are  five  blocks  in  this  row,  into  the  last  of  which  a  tunnel 
has  been  driven  two  hundred  feet  in  quest  of  water  for  irrigation. 
The  east  side  of  this  line  of  blocks  is  quite  precipitous,  repre- 
senting the  place  of  a  fault.  Both  the  lines  of  blocks  have  been 
elevated,  as  indicated  in  the  figure,  their  altitudes  being  greater 
than  that  of  the  adjacent  territory.  The  lowland  between  the 
elevated  blocks  and  the  east  side  rises  gradually  to  the  steep  wall 
behind,  toward  Puu  iki.  The  land  is  not  cultivated  for  most  of 
the  distance,  and  is  covered  by  the  original  forest  of  tree-ferns, 
ohias,  and  other  hardwood  trees,  similar  to  those  seen  on  the 
Volcano  Road  in  Olaa.  On  the  west  side  of  Pakua  may  be  seen 
the  bed  of  a  mountain  torrent,  usually  dry,  but  often  too  full  of 
water  to  be  safely  forded.  This  skirts  the  eastern  border  of  an- 
other lowland  area  like  those  already  mentioned,  save  that  it  is 
cultivated  and  used  for  pasturage.  It  is  over  a  mile  wide  and 
has  a  floor  of  fresh  looking  pahoehoe,  sloping  gradually  to  the 


so  very  iong  ag0  there  lived  here  a  charming  maiden  with  three  broth- 
ers. Among  her  visitors  was  one  possessing  great  attractions,  who  al- 
ways came  after  dark  and  left  before  daylight.  The  brothers  found  that 
their  sister  loved  this  visitor,  and  they  had  suspicions  that  he  was  more 
than  mortal.  In  order  to  satisfy  themselves,  they  seized  hold  of  him 
just  as  he  was  leaving,  and  compelled  him  to  remain  with  them.  As 
soon  as  daylight  came  he  was  changed  into  this  enormous  worm.  He 
was  evidently  one  of  those  deities  who  could  not  retain  the  human  form 
in  the  presence  of  mortals  after  daylight. 


152 

edge  of  the  frontal  escarpment,  about  1,200  feet  high.  Erup- 
tions of  aa  have  proceeded  from  this  edge  along  the  whole  width 
of  the  caldera. 

The  Enuhe  and  Kaiholena  ridges  are  higher  than  the  slopes  of 
the  Mauna  Loa  basalt  opposite  them,  of  which  it  is  supposed  they 
once  formed  a  part.  Hence  the  lowland  depressions  can  not  be 
regarded  as  the  results  of  canyon  erosion ;  they  probably  were 
depressed,  while  the  blocks  were  elevated.  Following  the  defini- 
tion of  the  caldera,  it  may  be  said  that  portions  of  the  mountain 
crust  were  dropped,  while  other  sections  were  elevated.  Its  de- 
velopment was  arrested.  The  making  of  the  caldera  was  incom- 
plete. Possibly  the  great  size  of  Mohokea,  comprising  thirty 
square  miles,  while  Haleakala  is  only  nineteen,  may  have  mili- 
tated against  the  thorough  fusing  of  the  entire  bulk. 

If  these  blocks  had  been  left  stilted  upon  their  ends,  they  would 
be  analogous  to  the  obelisk  of  Mount  Pelee  in  Martinique.  Per- 
haps they  had  a  similar  origin. 

MOHOKEA  COMPARED  WITH  HAILEAKALA. 

For  a  further  understanding  of  a  caldera,  reference  should  be 
made  to  Haleakala  on  Maui.  This  pit  has  an  area  of  nineteen 
square  miles  and  the  shape  of  an  elbow  ,and  its  principal  features 
have  been  described  in  Part  I. 

The  similarity  between  the  Mohokea  and  Haleakala  calderas 
consists  in  the  presence  of  steep  escarpments  at  the  lower  edges  of 
the  floor,  and  both  are  unlike  the  typical  examples  (Kilauea),  in 
that  they  are  open  on  one  side,  not  encircled  by  a  cliff.  Halea- 
kala could  be  conceived  of  as  consisting  of  two  smaller  calderas 
united  along  the  axis  of  the  elbow;  or  it  might  be  imagined  as 
formed  by  the  splitting  of  the  mountain  and  a  separation  of  the 
two  parts,  the  space  between  being  rilled  by  later  discharges. 

The  gaps  are  each  continued  in  broad  valleys  to  the  sea.  Koo- 
lau  merges  into  the  Keanae  valley,  reaching  the  sea  at  the  village 
of  that  name,  nine  or  ten  miles  distant.  This  valley  is  now  crossed 
transversely  by  an  aqueduct  fully  1,200  feet  above  the  sea,  carry- 
ing water  for  irrigation  purposes  to  the  sugar  plantations  of 
central  Maui.  The  Kaupo  gap  extends  to  the  sea  in  a  similar 
manner,  taking  its  name  from  the  locality.  These  two  streams 
of  lava  are  larger  than  any  now  known  elsewhere  in  the  archi- 
pelago. If  the  lava  should  accumulate  enormously  in  Kilauea, 
and  one  stream  flow  south  to  Punaluu  and  the  other  break  through 
the  barrier  to  the  edge  of  Puna  and  thence  to  the  sea,  the  topo- 
graphy of  the  caldera  and  its  outflows  would  be  very  suggestive 
of  Haleakala. 


153 

PEASES  IN  THE  DEVELOPMENT  OF  HAWAIIAN  CALDERAS. 

It  is  easy  to  speculate  on  the  relations  of  the  several  Hawaiian 
calderas. 

At  first  there  is  a  simple  crater  discharging  lava  from  the  sum- 
mit of  a  dome. 

Secondly,  the  lava  is  not  produced  in  sufficient  quantity  to  flow 
over  the  margin;  the  opening  is  sealed,  and  then  the  outermost 
crust  breaks  up.  The  crust  is  too  vast  to  be  absorbed ;  blocks  of 
it  will  be  elevated ;  other  sections  will  be  absorbed,  and  the  outer 
wall  on  the  makai  side  may  give  way.  There  will  be  discharges 
on  the  lower  side.  This  may  be  the  Mohokea  stage. 

Thirdly,  all  the  segments  of  the  crust  fall  into  the  reservoir 
beneath ;  vertical  walls  encircle  a  pit.  This  is  the  stage  of  Kilauea 
and  Mokuaweoweo. 

Fourthly,  the  caldera  with  encircling  walls  is  formed,  but  the 
lower  walls  give  way.  Great  rivers  of  lava  flow  to  the  sea.  As 
the  fires  die  down  several  craters  are  developed  on  the  principal 
floor.  This  is  Haleakala. 

Fifthly,  the  eruptions  of  the  smaller  craters  like  Halemaumau 
multiply  and  the  whole  pit  is  filled.  The  caldera  is  smothered, 
the  smaller  craters  continue  to  be  developed  until  the  internal  re- 
servoir is  exhausted.  This  is  the  Mauna  Kea  stage. 

VOLCANIC  ASH  OF  HAWAII  AND  ITS  SOURCE. 

The  district  of  Kau  between  Puna  and  Kona  is  proverbially 
dusty.  The  floor  is  of  modern  lava,  covered  over  an  area  of  three 
hundred  square  miles  with  a  light  yellowish  dust.  Mountain 
torrents  have  washed  away  some  of  it,  revealing  basalts  just  be- 
ginning to  disintegrate;  that  which  remains  is  very  loose,  easily 
moved  by  wind  or  water.  In  the  older  days  the  natives  enjoyed 
jumping  from  a  high  bank  into  the  dust,  just  as  they  might  leap 
from  a  bluff  into  the  water.  Of  course  this  material  is  badly 
cut  down  by  teams  along  the  roads.  It  is  utilized  for  the  growth 
of  sugar  cane  everywhere  that  plantations  exist  on  the  west  side 
of  Kilauea.  These  soils  are  free  from  rocks  and  are  very  deep, 
so  that  a  crowbar  or  cane  may  be  readily  thrust  down  its  whole 
length,  just  as  would  be  true  of  large  piles  of  wood  ashes  in  a  dry 
country.  Neither  is  there  anything  adhesive  in  this  dust  when 
wet.  No  part  of  it  adheres  to  one's  shoes  when  walking  over  it 
in  time  of  rain. 

These  soils  suffer  badly  from  drought.  Extensive  fields  will 
be  parched  and  clouds  of  dust  will  be  very  annoying,  even  im- 
parting a  reddish  yellow  tint  to  the  sky.  When  the  rain  comes 


154 

in  torrents  much  damage  will  be  done  to  the  land  by  the  cutting 
of  trenches  and  the  transportation  of  earth.  The  dry  and  wet 
periods  are  registered  in  the  varied  and  irregular  length  and  dia- 
meter of  the  joints  of  the  sugar  cane  stalks.  In  the  season  of 
drought  much  pains  are  taken  to  prevent  the  starting  of  fire  in 
the  grass,  as  it  spreads  long  distances  beneath  the  surface,  be- 
cause the  spongy  nature  of  this  ash  will  allow  the  access  of  air  to 
support  the  combustion. 

It  is  often  dangerous  to  traverse  the  forests  above  the  planta- 
tions on  horseback,  because  the  animals  unexpectedly  plunge  into 
unseen  deep  holes  and  break  their  legs.  Surveyors  find  it  im- 
practicable to  carry  supplies  to  their  workmen  by  direct  routes 
over  these  soils  and  necessarily  make  wide  detours. 

In  traveling  from  Kilauea  southwesterly  through  Kau  this  ash 
first  appears  in  small  isolated  areas  four  miles  from  the  volcano, 
and  then  increases  in  amount  and  importance,  and  is  more  notice- 
able about  the  "Halfway  House."  Between  this  and  Pahala  cer- 
tain piles  of  it,  as  at  the  level  of  1,800  feet,  resemble  terraces. 
It  is  the  material  supporting  the  Pahala  sugar  plantations.  It 
has  been  covered  at  various  places  in  Kau  by  flows  of  pahoehoe. 
An  isolated  hill  of  this  sort  near  the  tramway  a  mile  or  more 
northeast  from  Punaluu  harbor  is  conspicuous.  As  a  rule,  the 
lands  near  the  sea  level  have  either  lost  this  ash  by  rain  erosion 
or  it  is  covered  by  the  later  lava  flows.  Most  of  the  peaks  in  the 
Mohokea  area  are  capped  by  the  ash,  though  it  is  recognized 
most  abundantly  near  the  southeast  margin. 

The  promontory  called  Kahuku  Point,  South  Cape,  and  Ka 
Lae  is  likewise  covered  by  this  ash,  and  has  attained  the  thick- 
ness of  ten  feet,  separated  into  two  parts  by  a  thin  seam  of  earth. 
The  late  eruptions  of  1868  and  1887  destroyed  the  continuity 
of  this  deposit  between  Kahuku  and  Kona. 

Mr.  Emerson  has  discussed  the  problem  of  the  source  of  the 
aerial  eruption,  and  the  writer  has  referred  to  the  same  question 
ni  a  paper  on  the  volcanic  phenomena  in  Hawaii." 

King  Umi's  road  is  referred  to  as  giving  evidence  of  the  pres- 
ence of  these  ashes  for  three  and  a  half  centuries.  He  occupied 
a  tract  of  land  between  Mauna  Loa  and  Hualalai,  where  some  of 
the  edifices  constructed  by  him  were  figured  by  Captain  Wilkes 
and  are  still  to  be  seen.  The  road  ran  north  and  south,  parallel 
to  the  shore  of  Kona,  seven  or  eight  miles  distant,  to  a  natural 
amphitheater  on  the  southern  slope  of  Puu  o  Keokeo,  where  im- 
mense crowds  of  Hawaiians  gathered  to  witness  the  cock  fights. 
The  pens  still  stand  as  they  were  in  Umi's  day.  The  road  over 

31  Bull.  Geol.  Soc.  Am.,  Vol.  12,  p.  83. 


155 

this  ash  is  said  to  be  only  two  or  three  feet  wide.  If  a  mule 
traversing  this  path  deviated  but  a  few  feet  on  either  side  he 
would  sink  down  to  his  girth  and  flounder  helplessly.  If  a  shower 
of  pumice  or  lapilli  had  fallen  since  the  days  of  Umi,  the  road 
and  the  pens  would  have  been  swept  away  or  covered  up.  Hence 
we  must  regard  the  ash  deposit  as  the  latest  formation  of  the 
neighborhood,  though  still  several  centuries  old. 

Mr.  Emerson's  final  conclusion  is  that  we  must  seek  for  the 
source  of  the  ash  in  the  district  where  it  abounds.  Considering 
the  shape  of  our  supposed  caldera,  he  thinks  the  ashes  must  have 
proceeded  from  some  part  of  it.  This  was  the  "source  of  the 
stupendous  explosions  or  series  of  explosions  which  has  rescued 
Kau  from  being  a  waste  of  unproductive  rock  and  transformed 
it  to  so  large  an  extent  into  a  land  of  pastures  and  plantations." 

I  have  already  treated  of  this  question  in  the  paper  cited,  look- 
ing to  Mokuaweoweo  as  the  probable  source  of  this  and  other 
localities  of  ash  on  Hawaii.  What  is  conceived  to  be  the  same 
duplex  deposit  is  recognized  at  Puakala  on  the  south  flank  of 
Mauna  Kea,  at  Hilo,  all  through  Olaa,  as  well  as  in  Kau  and 
Kona.  I  have  also  discovered  the  same  deposit  on  the  north  side 
of  Mokuaweoweo  a  dozen  miles  west  of  Humuula  sheep  station, 
so  that  now  the  great  crater  has  been  proved  to  be  encircled  by 
this  light,  fine-grained  material.  The  absence  of  it  about  Kilauea, 
Puu  o  Keokeo,  and  on  the  north  slope  of  Mauna  Loa  is  occa- 
sioned by  its  removal  by  the  later  historic  discharges  of  lava.  It 
would  not  be  found  near  the  central  vent  because  the  heated  air 
would  carry  the  particles  many  thousand  feet  in  the  air,  whence 
they  would  descend  miles  away  from  their  place  of  origin.  The 
fact  that  the  Mohokea  caldera  is  covered  by  the  ashes  is  evidence 
that  they  came  from  a  distant  vent.  Had  the  eruption  been  in 
the  midst  of  the  depression,  we  should  look  for  them  in  an  en- 
circling belt,  if  not  upon  the  southwest  side  almost  exclusively, 
where  they  were  deflected  by  the  trade  winds. 

ORDER  OF  EVENTS  IN  THE  HISTORY  OF  MOHOKEA. 

Several  events  can  be  clearly  discriminated  in  the  history  of 
the  Mohokea  caldera. 

i.  The  formation  of  the  cone  of  Mauna  Loa.  This  is  really 
composite,  but  may  be  treated  as  a  unity  for  convenience.  Basalt 
came  from  below  and  flowed  over  the  edge  of  the  primeval  crater 
till  the  whole  dome,  seventy-five  by  fifty-three  miles  in  two  dia- 
meters and  13,650  feet  altitude,  had  been  formed,  composed  of 
millions  of  layers  gradually  superimposed  upon  one  another.  The 


altitude  must  have  been  even  greater,  so  as  to  allow  for  the  falling 
in  of  the  surface  to  develop  the  caldera  of  Mokuaweoweo. 

2.  After  the  material  ceased  to  flow  over  the  surface,  two 
styles  of  eruption  commenced  or  continued  to  be  manifested; 
those  high  up,  allowing  streams  of  molten  lava  to  flow  away 
quietly,  and  those  starting  from  comparatively  low  levels,  dis- 
charging with  violence.     The  base  of  the  cone  was  filled  by  these 
ruptures  of  the  basaltic  sheets  and  the  discharge  of  streams  of 
melted  lava.     The  irregularities  of  the  southern  edge  of  the  cone 
between  Kilauea  and  Punaluu  were  produced  at  this  time.     Mo- 
hokea  was  the  most  important  of  these  displays.     The  three  inter- 
montane  valleys  sank  down  in  the  usual  style  of  the  breaking  of 
the  superior  crust  from  a  caldera.     Perhaps,  because  of  the  great 
size  of  the  pit,  all  the  fragments  could  not  be  absorbed  by  the 
inner  fiery  fluid;  two  rows  of  blocks  were  crowded  up,  and  the 
work  of  fracture  ceasing,  the  great  masses  of  rock  were  elevated 
and  held  in  position.     It  is  to  be  noted  that  the  faults  are  at  right 
angles  to  those  running  seaward  from,  the  apex  of  Mauna  Loa. 
This  agrees  with  the  theory  of  W.  L.  Green,  that  the  discharges 
of  the  lava  from  the  interior  of  the  cone  always  take  place  at 
the  intersection  of  the  cross-fissures.      Very  much  lava  flowed 
away  at  this  time,  including  the  three  valleys  mentioned  and  the 
crust  adjacent  as  far  as  to  Kapuna. 

3.  Two  great  eruptions,  separated  by  a  long  interval  of  time, 
threw  out  into  the  atmosphere  enormous  clouds  of  ashes.     The 
intermediate  period  was  long  enough  to  allow  of  the  invasion  of 
plants  over  the  sterile  area  of  silt.      Because  of  the  occurrence 
of  this  ash  entirely  around  the  circumference  of  Mauna  Loa,  it 
seems  most  likely  that  the  vent  was  at  Mokuaweoweo.      A  gi- 
gantic cloud  rose  above  the  trade  winds  and  spread  out  on  all 
sides,  while  the  particles  too  heavy  to  be  carried  great  distances 
fell  to  the  ground.      Three  recent  eruptions  of  a  similar  nature 
are  on  record — from  Krakatoa  in  1883,  from  Tarawera  in  1886, 
and  in  19x37  at  Vesuvius.      I  have  estimated  that  2,000  square 
miles  of  the  island  of  Hawaii  were  covered  by  these  ashes.     These 
are  preserved,  but  they  must  have  been  strewn  much  beyond  these 
limits  and  lost  in  the  sea.     Could  any  one  have  observed  the  skies 
at  this  time  he  would  have  seen  repeated  the  sky  glows,  the  Bis- 
hop's rings,  and  the  green  sun.      This  must  have  been  an  ex- 
plosive eruption — a  style  of  discharge  denied  to  Hawaiian  vol- 
canoes by  the  early  writers. 

4.  Several  flows  of  pahoehoe  will  be  described  presently  over- 
lying the  ash,  some  of  them  from  the  Mohokea  depression  itself. 


157 

5.  More  or  less  connected  with  them  are  several  discharges 
of  aa.      AH 

6.  Last  of  all,  I  should  not  fail  to  recall  the  disastrous  earth- 
quakes of  1868,  whose  epicentrum  lay  in  the  vicinity  of  this  cal- 
dera.      No  more  severe  shocks  have  ever  been  experienced  since 
the  country  has  been  settled  by  people  of  European  descent.     The 
quakes  were  observed  at  Kona,  Kahuku,  Waiohinu,  Kilauea,  and 
Hilo.     All  were  severe,  but  the  greatest  devastation  was  wrought 
in  the  vicinity  of  Mohokea.     Can  it  be  that  the  seat  of  the  seismic 
disturbances  lay  beneath  Mohokea?     The  chief  discharge  of  lava 
was  on  the  flank  of  Mauna  Loa  several  miles  west  of  Mohokea, 
and  there  was  another  from  Kilauea  in  the  opposite  direction. 

ERUPTIONS  OF  LAVA  FROM  THE  LOWER  LEVELS. 

The  Mauna  Loa  flows  may  be  classified  by  the  altitudes  at  which 
the  discharges  take  place.  First,  those  from  the  upper  part  of  the 
dome,  as  those  of  1843,  ^52,  1855,  ^o,  I&&9,  and  1899,  starting 
from  9,000  to  1 1 ,000  feet  above  the  sea.  They  are  strongly  char- 
acterized by  a  hydrostatic  connection  with  the  central  pit  at  Mo- 
kuaweoweo.  The  lava  comes  from  the  extreme  depth  under  the 
ocean  to  the  caldera,  and  after  two  or  three  days'  stay  at  the  sum- 
mit it  breaks  out  quietly  on  the  side  of  the  mountain,  and  may 
flow  to  the  sea  level  in  the  course  of  several  months.  The  other 
class,  as  represented  by  the  flows  of  1868,  1887,  and  1907,  shows 
first  the  same  supply  of  lava  at  the  summit,  but  breaks  out  low 
down,  3,000  or  6,000  feet  above  the  sea,  with  violent  earthquakes, 
those  lowest  down  being  the  most  frightful,  and  the  lava  issues 
tumultuously  through  long  fissures.  I  can  now  add  quite  a  num- 
ber to  the  list  of  those  that  have  issued  from  the  lower  level. 
They  were  prehistoric,  so  that  it  is  impossible  to  connect  them 
with  manifestations  in  Mokuaweoweo. 

In  this  class  I  will  include  several  undefined  aa  eruptions  east 
of  Pahala.  The  first. poses  on  the  Government  map  as  having 
been  erupted  in  1823,  and  is  quite  near  Kilauea.  As  there  rep- 
resented, I  think  it  is  made  up  of  three  eruptions.  The  first,  pre- 
historic, 9,300  feet  above  the  sea,  near  Puu  Ulaula,  well  shown 
on  E.  D.  Baldwin's  unpublished  survey.  This  probably  was  of 
the  first  class,  originating  high  up.  The  second  part  must  have 
been  of  the  kind  appearing  at  the  surface  low  down,  starting 
near  the  line  between  the  Mauna  Loa  and  Kilauea  areas,  at  an 
elevation  of  more  than  3,000  feet.  A  macadamized  road  now 
crosses  it  diagonally  for  as  much  as  six  miles,  and  it  is  certainly 
of  prehistoric  age.  It  has  moved  southwest  with  very  little  fall. 


158 

The  third  part  originated  from  Kilauea  in  1823,  and  is  probably 
the  only  area  that  came  to  the  surface  at  that  time.  It  was  visited 
by  Rev.  Mr.  Ellis  in  1823  and  is  described  in  his  journal. 

The  second  mention  is  that  of  one  or  more  ancient  flows  between 
the  Halfway  House  and  Pahala.  Some  of  them  cover  the  yellow 
ash  beds,  others  are  much  older,  or  at  least  they  had  their  day 
before  the  deposit  of  ash.  Some  of  the  recent  exposures  show  a 
beautifully  smooth  pahoehoe,  which  when  protected  by  an  earthy 
covering  really  recall,  by  their  freshness  and  smoothness,  glaciated 
surfaces  in  more  northern  climes.  Mr.  Mann,  one  of  the  lunas 
at  Hilea,  told  me  he  had  seen  five  different  lava  flows  belonging 
to  this  later  period  to  the  east  of  Pahala.  They  have  a  thickness 
of  twenty-eight  feet.  This  is  in  the  vicinity  of  the  mud  flow 
of  1868. 

Thirdly,  extensive  aa  flows,  which  have  originated  in  the  de- 
pressed area  of  Mohokea  east  of  Puu  Enuhe. 

The  fourth  eruption  is  aa  from  between  Puu  Enuhe  and  Ma- 
kanao. 

The  fifth  eruption  is  made  up  of  at  least  three  aa  flows  and 
the  later  pahoehoe  between  Hilea  and  Honuapo. 

In  the  sixth  area  there  are  some  undetermined  factors.  Un- 
doubtedly there  were  discharges  on  the  Kahuku  promontory  be- 
tween Honuapo  and  the  1868  flow,  but  we  are  sure  of  those  of 
1868,  1887  and  19x57,  which  have  been  fully  described.  Farther 
north  I  observed  from  the  steamer  half  a  dozen  of  these  short 
flows,  of  very  modern  aspect,  before  reaching  Cape  Honumalo. 
Here  commences  the  steeper  slopes  of  the  Kona  district  for  a 
distance  of  sixty  miles.  Much  of  the  way  the  1,000  foot  contour 
is  only  a  mile  back  from  the  shore,  and  it  rises  nearly  as  rapidly 
to  3,000  and  4,000  feet.  I  observed  fresh  black  lava  flows  at 
Hoopaloa,  Naupoopoo,  and  Kailua.  It  seems  clear,  therefore, 
that  there  have  been  many  eruptions  from  the  lower  levels  of  the 
Mauna  Loa  dome  on  the  south  and  southwest  sides.  Whether 
any  or  all  of  them  had  direct  connection  with  Mokuaweoweo, 
like  those  of  1868  and  1887,  cannot  be  proved ;  but  their  situation 
warrants  a  belief  in  their  similarity. 

HUALALAI. 

This  volcano  is  8,269  feet  in  altitude,  northwest  from  Mauna 
Loa  and  between  the  flow  of  1859  and  the  sea.  Menzies  ascended 
it  in  1793  and  figures  a  large  crater  at  the  summit  with  steep  walls 
inside,  with  the  name  Worroway.  Prof.  W.  T.  Brigham  repre- 
sents a  cluster  of  cinder  cones  crowning  the  apex  as  seen  from 
Mokuaweoweo.  Button  says  there  are  many  cinder  cones  upon 


159 

it,  hundreds  in  all,  increasing  in  number  and  size  towards 
the  summit.  Interspersed  among  the  cones  are  chimneys  with 
sharp  edges  at  the  mouths  of  hollow  pipes  which  slope  gradually 
to  their  bases.  As  he  speaks  of  the  caldera,  it  is  evident  that  he 
saw  recent  lava  at  the  summit  and  the  adjacent  volcanic  depres- 
sions. 

Prof.  Pickering  adds  further  descriptions  and  illustrations, 
some  of  which  are  shown  later.  Upon  the  summit  he  saw  crater 
bowls,  pits,  cinder  cones  and  spiracles  with  strong  resemblances 
to  lunar  phenomena.  There  is  a  bowl  eight  hundred  feet  in  dia- 
meter and  two  hundred  deep  with  a  sandy  bottom.  Near  by  is 
a  row  of  spiracles,  the  highest  reaching  one  thousand  feet  above 
its  base.  In  their  midst  is  the  "bottomless  pit,"  exceeding  1,400 
feet  by  direct  measurement. 

The  last  known  eruption  started  from  the  altitude  of  1,800  feet 
and  flowed  to  the  sea  in  1801,  spreading  out  very  much  laterally. 

The  distance  between  the  extreme  points  on  the  shore  exceeds 
the  length  of  the  flow.  Three  other  very  distinct  earlier  but  pre- 
historic flows  are  delineated  on  the  north  side  of  Hualalai,  start- 
ing from  points  3,700  to  6,000  feet  above  the  sea  level.  The  1801 
flow  was  visited  by  Kamehameha  I,  who  cut  off  a  lock  of  his  hair 
and  threw  it  into  the  stream,  with  the  result  that  the  lava  ceased 
to  discharge  further. 

There  are  no  ravines  made  by  erosion  upon  the  flanks  of  the 
mountain  except  in  the  foot  hills,  like  Puu  Waawaa  to  the  north ; 
these  last  for  that  reason  being  of  greater  age. 


PART  III 
The  History  of  the  Exploration  of  Kilauea. 

Kilauea,  sometimes  written  Kirauea,  is  better  known  than 
Mauna  Loa  because  it  is  more  easily  visited  and  has  almost  always 
afforded  signs  of  volcanic  activity.  The  altitude  of  its  north 
bank  at  the  Volcano  House  is  given  at  4,040  feet,  and  is  easily 
reached  by  good  carriage  roads  from  Hilo  on  the  northeast  and 
the  port  of  Honuapo  on  the  southwest,  being  midway  between 
these  two  villages.  From  Hilo  there  is  also  a  steam  railroad  for 
three-fourths  of  the  way,  say  twenty-five  miles  out  of  thirty-one. 
The  ascent  is  gradual,  at  the  rate  of  about  one  hundred  and  thirty 
feet  to  the  mile,  so  that  one  does  not  realize  that  when  standing 
on  the  brink  of  the  caldera,  he  is  really  on  the  summit  of  a  lofty 
mountain. 

There  seems  to  exist  data  for  a  belief  in  a  very  extensive  pre- 
historic flow  from  near  Kilauea  upon  the  Government  road  for 
over  twenty  miles  southeasterly.  At  the  higher  elevations,  from 
about  the  twenty-fifth  to  the  thirtieth  mile  posts  upon  the  Gov- 
ernment road,  the  forest  growth  is  wanting.  The  same  is  true  of 
a  broad  strip  of  country  makai  of  the  trail  used  by  travelers  from 
Hilo  to  the  volcano  more  than  fifteen  years  ago.  This  trail, 
called  the  "worst  road  in  the  world,"  in  my  note  books  of  1883 
and  1886,  seems  to  have  been  located  just  outside  of  the  forest, 
that  belt  which  covers  most  of  the  country  between  Hilo  and  the 
Volcano.  It  is  a  magnificent  growth  of  ohia,  tree  ferns,  vines 
and  other  plants,  answering  to  the  appellation  of  jungle.  The 
climatal  conditions  are  favorable  to  its  continuity  over  the  whole 
of  the  region  between  the  present  forest  and  Puna ;  and  it  is  our 
belief  that  the  absence  of  vegetation  is  due  to  a  large  lava  stream 
reaching  from  an  older  Kilauea  to  the  lower  limits  of  Olaa. 
There  is  a  belt  of  the  original  growth  between  the  caldera  and 
the  beginning  of  the  scanty  vegetation,  from  which  immense 
trunks  of  the  "Hawaiian  mahogany"  are  now  being  obtained  for 
commercial  purposes. 

A  recent  trip  from1  the  ninth  mile  post  out  of  Hilo  on  the  Vol- 
cano road  to  Pohoiki  (Rycroft's)  confirmed  these  conclusions. 
Near  the  coast  there  is  a  dense  growth  of  the  Pandanus  or  lou- 
hala.  Higher  up  it  is  replaced  by  various  shrubs,  especially  the 
guava.  The  flow  of  1840  is  still  conspicuous  by  the  sparse  vege- 


tatioh  upon  it,  as  sufficient  time  has  not  yet  elapsed  to  allow  the 
complete  disintegration  of  the  basalt  into  soil  and  the  consequent 
growth  of  trees;  bushes  appear  upon  the  older  lavas  adjacent. 
The  greater  portion  of  this  road  between  the  flow  of  1840  and 
the  ninth  mile  post  is  situated  upon  a  barren  tract  of  pahoehoe, 
if  possible  more  devoid  of  vegetation  than  the  later  stream,  be- 
cause less  easily  disintegrated.  I  found  two  small  areas  of  the 
original  dense  forest  in  the  midst  of  this  barren  tract.  One  is  a 
mile  in  diameter,  east  of  Pahoa  postoffice ;  the  other  is  much 
smaller,  near  the  eighteenth  mile  post.  Large  ohias,  tree  ferns, 
ropy  vines  and  various  shrubs  are  as  vigorous  in  these  islands  as 
in  the  upper  forest,  while  the  interspaces  exhibit  chiefly  the  pa- 
hoehoe, barren  and  devoid  of  vegetation.  They  are  like  the  out- 
liers of  sandstone  isolated  in  a  flat  country,  and  supposed  to  have 
once  covered  the  whole  region.  The  natural  conclusion  here  is 
that  the  forest  originally  covered  the  whole  of  Puna  and  that  a 
powerful  flow  of  lava  came  from  the  barren  tract  east  of  Kilauea.. 
burnt  its  way  through  the  forest,  leaving  here  and  there  islands  of 
jungle.  The  general  absence  of  vegetation  would  indicate  that 
the  date  of  the  outflow  is  comparatively  modern,  recent  enough  to 
have  been  witnessed  by  the  Hawaiians,  and  possibly  preserved  in 
legendary  form. 

The  first  known  reference  to  this  volcano  in  the  writings  of 
Europeans  is  that  given  by  Vancouver  in  1794.  Under  date  of 
January  nth,  he  writes:  "As  we  passed  the  district  of  Opoona, 
(on  ship  board)  the  weather  being  very  clear  and  pleasant,  we 
had  a  most  excellent  view  of  Mauna  Roa's  snowy  summit,  and  the 
range  of  lower  hills  that  extend  toward  the  east  end  of  Owyhee. 
From  the  tops  of  these,  about  the  middle  of  the  descending  ridge, 
several  columns  of  smoke  were  seen  to  ascend,  which  Ta- 
maahmaah  and  the  rest  of  our  friends  said  were  occasioned  by 
the  subterranean  fires  that  frequently  broke  out  in  violent  erup- 
tions, causing  among  the  natives  such  a  multiplicity  of  superstiti- 
ous notions  as  to  give  rise  to  a  religious  order  of  persons,  who 
perform  volcanic  rites,  consisting  of  various  sacrifices  of  the  dif- 
ferent productions  of  the  country,  for  the  purpose  of  appeasing 
the  wrath  of  the  enraged  demon." 

Menzies  in  his  sketch  of  the  ascent  of  Mauna  Loa  refers  to 
the  "Volcano,"  from  which  smoke  and  ashes  proceeded,  making 
the  air  thick  and  irritating  to  the  eyes.  This  was  between  Puna- 
luu  and  Kapapala  and  his  experiences  were  such  as  have  been 
repeated  constantly  ever  since. 

Before  citing  the  account  of  the  next  visit  to  the  volcano  by  an 
European,  it  will  be  well  to  state  what  has  been  learned  from 
the  native  Hawaiian  records,  partly  historic  and  partly  legendary. 


1 62 
EARLY  RECORDS  OF  ACTIVITY  AT  KILAUEA. 

As  is  well  known,  the  first  detachment  of  American  mission- 
aries arrived  in  Hawaii  in  1820.  They  gradually  made  them- 
selves familiar  with  the  island  and  dicovered  the  fact  of  the  ex- 
istence of  the  volcano  of  Kilauea.  Because  the  natives  possessed 
no  written  literature,  it  has  been  generally  understood  that  their 
oral  traditions  transmitted  from  generation  to  generation  had  no 
scientific  value.  Historians  have  discovered  that  these  traditions 
are  of  importance  in  determining  the  ancestry  of  the  Hawaiians, 
and  to  some  extent  their  chronology ;  and  therefore  credence  may 
be  given  to  their  statements  about  volcanic  activity.  They  im- 
agined that  the  volcano  was  inhabited  by  certain  deities,  and  rep- 
resented that  there  were  struggles  among  them  and  that  they  had 
the  power  to  produce  flows  of  lava,  both  superficially  and  by  un- 
derground passages  from  the  crater  to  the  ocean.  It  may  be  said 
that  these  traditions  represent  the  conceptions  formed  by  the  na- 
tives of  the  nature  of  the  eruptions ;  and  consequently  the  deeds 
performed  can  be  recognized  in  one  or  another  phase  of  volcanic 
activity.  Furthermore,  the  events  are  said  to  have  taken  place 
during  the  reigns  of  particular  kings  and  therefore  make  known 
the  date  of  certain  definite  eruptions.  I  have  not  been  able  to 
investigate  this  history  thoroughly,  but  have  gleaned  a  few  facts 
which  may  be  added  to  by  experts. 

The  first  information  afforded  by  the  missionaries  is  contained 
in  a  journal  of  a  tour  of  exploration  undertaken  in  1823.  Rev. 
William  Ellis  was  an  English  missionary  who  had  resided  for 
several  years  in  the  Society  Islands  and  had  acquired  a  knowl- 
edge of  the  language  of  that  part  of  the  Pacific,  which  is  very 
much  like  the  Hawaiian  tongue.  With  Rev.  Daniel  Tyerman  and 
George  Bennett,  Ellis  had  explored  some  of  the  South  Seas.  The 
Hawaiian  authorities  invited  Mr.  Ellis,  together  with  two  Tahitian 
chiefs,  to  reside  in  Hawaii.  The  Amercan  Board  of  Commis- 
sioners of  Foreign  Missions  took  advantage  of  the  opportunity 
afforded  by  the  presence  of  these  gentlemen  to  undertake  the  ex- 
ploration of  the  island  of  Hawaii,  primarily  for  evangelistic  pur- 
poses, and  incidentally  for  the  acquisition  of  any  knowledge  of 
general  importance.  The  missionaries  connected  with  the  A.  B. 
C.  F.  M.  who  were  associated  with  Mr.  Ellis,  were  Reverends 
Asa  Thurston,  Artemas  Bishop  and  Joseph  Goodrich,  and  Mr. 
Harwood,  an  intelligent  mechanic.  All  except  Mr.  Ellis  arrived 
at  Kailua,  Hawai,  June  26,  1823.  Before  the  arrival  of  Mr. 
Ellis,  eight  days  later,  the  company  had  discovered  various  signs 
of  volcanic  structure,  and  attempted  the  ascent  of  Mauna  Huala- 
lai,  but  failed  to  reach  the  summit,  for  want  of  supplies. 


PLATE  26. 


••"•?"-.•;'   -V 


^>^V:^;;i>;;.y/^--:: 


II 


Distribution  of  volcanic  ashes  about  Kilauea. 


i63 

At  length  the  journey  around  the  island  was  commenced,  and 
numerous  references  were  made  to  volcanic  phenomena,  which 
need  not  be  repeated.  They  journeyed  through  Kona  and  Kau 
till  Kilauea  was  reached.  They  noted  the  conical  hills  of  volcanic 
ashes  not  far  from  Tairitii,  near  Kahuku,  which  we  now  recognize 
as  a  part  of  the  deposit  blown  out  from  Mokuaweoweo  in  pre- 
historic times.  After  passing  the  South  Cape  they  began  to  see 
the  clouds  of  smoke  and  to  smell  the  fumes  of  sulphur  emanating 
from  Kilauea.  From  Kapapala  they  diverged  on  a  side  trip  to 
Ponahohoa,  a  distance  of  five  miles,  where  they  saw  the  discharge 
that  came  from  Kilauea  in  the  month  of  March.  The  story  was 
that  the  goddess  of  Pele  had  issued  from  a  subterranean  cavern 
and  overflowed  the  lowlands  of  Kapapala.  The  inundation  was 
sudden  and  violent.  One  canoe  had  been  burnt  and  four  others 
carried  out  to  the  sea.  At  Manuka  the  deep  torrent  of  lava  had 
transported  a  huge  rock,  nearly  one  hundred  feet  high,  into  the 
water  which  was  still  visible.  The  ground  at  Ponahohoa32  ex- 
hibited several  chasms,  some  of  them  ten  or  twelve  feet  across, 
from  which  smoke  and  steam  was  issuing.  The  vegetation  had 
been  scorched,  and  a  considerable  heat  was  still  emanating  from 
the  recently  ejected  lava. 

This  is  the  only  notice  we  have  of  the  1823  eruption  from 
Kilauea.  In  Plate  26  may  be  seen  a  sketch  of  its  position  and 
area,  party  of  aa  and  partly  of  pahoehoe,  occupying  a  space  .about 
fifteen  miles  square  and  surrounding  the  small  hills  known  as 
Kearaarea.  The  plan  is  taken  from  the  recent  survey  of  Kapa- 
pala by  E.  D.  Baldwin  and  George  F.  Wright,  executed  under 
the  direction  of  Walter  E.  Wall,  Government  surveyor.  These 
small  craters  must  have  been  formed  long  before  this  eruption, 
otherwise  their  names  would  not  have  been  known.  I  have  never 
seen  any  account  of  them,  but  they  are  quite  conspicuous  as  seen 
from  the  Kau  volcano  road. 

After  reaching  Kaimu,  several  miles  east  of  Kilauea,  the  depu- 
tation listened  to  accounts  of  an  earthquake  which  had  been  ex- 
perienced about  two  months  earlier.  The  ground  after  several 
minutes  of  quaking  had  been  rent  for  several  miles  in-  the  direc- 
tion north-by-east,  and  emitted  a  quantity  of  smoke,  ashes  and 
luminous  vapor,  but  none  of  the  people  were  injured.  One  house 
was  situated  directly  over  the  chasm  and  the  people  were  disturbed 
in  their  slumbers.  Probably  this  disturbance  was  connected  with 
the  general  eruption  of  1823  from  Kilauea. 

After  Kilauea  had  been  visited  Mr.  Ellis  questioned  the  natives 
about  its  history.  They  represented  that  it  had  been  burning 

32  Probably  near  Kearaarea.     All  knowledge  of  the  older  name  is  lost. 


from  time  immemorial:  it  often  had  boiled  up  and  overflowed  its 
banks  in  the  earlier  ages,  inundating  the  surrounding  country ; 
but  for  many  reigns  past  it  had  kept  below  the  level  of  the  sur- 
rounding plain,  continually  extending  its  surface,  increasing  its 
depth,  occasionally  throwing  up  large  rocks  and  red-hot  stones. 
These  eruptions  were  always  accompanied  by  dreadful  earth- 
quakes, loud  claps  of  thunder  and  quick  succeeding  lightning. 
No  great  eruption  had  taken  place  since  the  days  of  Keoua  (1790), 
but  many  places  near  the  sea  had  been  overflowed ;  the  streams  of 
lava  had  taken  subterranean  courses  to  the  shore. 

The  first  incoming  of  immigrants,  as  corroborated  and  dated  by 
the  historian  Fornander,  was  in  the  days  of  Wakea,  A.  D.  190, 
when  the  volcano  was  active.  The  later  immigration  dates  from 
A.  D.  1090;  and  it  was  claimed  that  eruptions  had  taken  place 
during  every  reign  since  that  date;  which  may  be  estimated  as 
once  for  every  generation.  The  legend  of  Pele,  detailed  later, 
relates  clearly  to  an  eruption  from  Kilauea,  which  must  have  taken 
place  a  few  years  after  1175.  About  fourteen  generations  back, 
in  the  days  of  Liloa,  1420,  a  violent  eruption  broke  out  from 
Keanakakoi.  As  this  seemed  to  be  well  known  to  the  natives, 
it  was  probably  of  unusual  importance,  and  is  referred  to  again 
later.  There  was  also  an  eruption  at  Kaimu  in  the  days  of  Alapai, 
whose  date  proves  to  be  from  1730  to  1754,  according  to  Professor 
W.  D.  Alexander. 

Another  tradition  relates  to  the  disturbances  at  Kapoho,  a  very 
interesting  crater  in  Puna  near  the  eastern  extremity  of  Hawaii, 
belonging  to  Mr.  Shipman,  who  entertained  me  in  1883,  and  later 
to  Mr.  H.  J.  Lyman,  whom  I  visited  in  1899.  Kapoho  signifies 
the  sunken  in.  It  is  the  largest  of  all  the  craters  in  Puna,  one 
mile  in  diameter  ,enclosing  two  hills  and  a  pond  of  clear  water, 
which  is  said  to  be  quite  saline.  Inasmuch  as  Pele  is  represented 
as  coming  here  to  engage  in  the  game  of  holua,  it  seems  probable 
that  Kapoho  is  connected  with  Kilauea.  It  was  in  the  reign  of 
Keariikukii  ,an  ancient  king  of  Hawaii,  that  Kahavari,  a  chief 
from  Puna,  with  others,  came  to  Kapoho  to  amuse  themselves 
with  sliding  downhill.  Many  people  came  to  witness  the  game, 
among  them  Pele.  She  challenged  Kahavari  to  slide  with  her, 
and  she  was  beaten.  She  asked  for  his  sledge,  which  he  refused 
to  give  her.  Becoming  incensed,  she  stamped  upon  the  ground, 
whence  followed  an  earthquake,  rending  the  hill  in  sunder ;  and  in 
response  to  her  call  liquid  fire  made  its  appearance,  and  pursued 
Kahavari.  He  had  great  difficulty  in  making  his  escape  down  the 
hill  to  the  sea,  whence  he  was  closely  followed  by  fire  and  stones 
while  his  family  were  overwhelmed.  The  special  site  of  this 
action  was  the  crater  Kukii,  a  crater  of  black  and  red  lapilli  half 


PLATE  27. 


A.     Explosive  eruption  from  Kilauea,    1 790. 


B.     Relief  Map  of  Kilauea  in  1823. 


a  mile  northeasterly  from  Lyman's.  The  scoriae  are  pumiceous 
like  that  on  the  south  side  of  Kilauea.  The  time  of  Kahavari's 
domination  in  Puna  is  placed  by  Kalakaua  at  A.  D.  1340  to  1380, 
in  the  resign  of  Kahoukapu. 

Another  eruption  was  described  by  the  natives  as  having  been 
manifested  about  thirty-five  years  earlier,  say  1788.  There  are 
three  hills  contiguous  to  each  other,  to  the  west  of  Kapoho,  Ho- 
nualula,  Malama  (Puulena)  and  Mariu  (Kaliu).  These  arrested 
the  progress  of  an  immense  torrent  of  lava  which  inundated  the 
country  to  the  north.  This  flow  must  have  been  analogous  to 
the  later  discharge  from  Kilauea  in  1840. 

One  cannot  resist  the  impression  that  the  earlier  eruptions  were 
comparable  with  what  are  called  the  Vesuvian  or  explosive  type 
of  action;  and  Plate  27 A  is  a  humble  attempt  to  represent  the 
conditions  attending  the  discharge  of  vapors,  stones  and  ashes, 
when  the  whole  adjacent  region  was  covered  with  the  ejectamenta. 

ERUPTION  OF  1790. 

The  account  of  the  eruption  of  1790  was  compiled  by  Rev. 
Sheldon  Dibble  in  his  History  of  the  Sandwich  Islands,  published 
at  Lahainaluna  in  1843.  He  interviewed  several  of  the  survivors 
of  the  catastrophe,  and  was  able  by  repeated  questionings  to  com- 
pile a  satisfactory  account  of  the  events.  It  was  also  given  by 
Mr.  Ellis  in  his  Journal.  Rev.  H.  R.  Hitchcock  puts  the  date  of 
the  event  at  November,  1790,  in  the  chronology  of  Hawaiian  hap- 
penings appended  to  his  Dictionary :  others  had  supposed  it  to  be 
a  year  earlier. 

In  the  earlier  months  of  1790  violent  battles  had  been  fought 
between  Keoua  and  Kamehameha  in  their  struggle  for  the  su- 
premacy, and  now  quite  a  large  detachment  of  warriors  were  on 
the  way  to  Kau  under  the  leadership  of  Keoua,  an  immediate  de- 
scendant of  Taraiopu,  a  chief  mentioned  in  Captain  Cook's  narra- 
tive. He  took  the  route  upon  the  southeast  side  of  Kilauea  and 
was  encamped  near  Keanakakoi.  The  natives  explained  the  dis- 
aster by  the  friendship  of  Pele  for  Kamehameha  and  hostility  to 
KeouaJ/'Soon  after  sunset  there  were  repeated  earthquakes,  the 
rising  of  a  column  of  dense  black  smoke  followed  by  the  most 
brilliant  flames,  and  streams  of  lava  spouted  up  in  fountains  and 
immense  rocks  were  ejected  to  a  great  height.  A  volley  of 
smaller  stones  thrown  with  great  force  followed  the  larger  ones, 
striking  some  of  the  soldiers,  and  bursting  like  bomb  shells,  ac- 
companied by  lightning.  Many  of  the  people  were  killed  by  the 
falling  fragments  and  others  were  buried  beneath  masses  of 


' 


1 66 

scoriae  and  ashes.  The  natives  did  not  dare  to  proceed.  On  the 
second  and  third  nights  tnere  were  similar  disturbances.  Not  in- 
timidated by  this  event  Keoua  continued  his  march,  separating 
for  safety  into  three  companies.  The  advance  party  experienced 
a  severe  earthquake  and  a  dense  cloud  rose  out  of  the  crater  ac- 
companied by  electric  discharges.  The  cloud  excluded  the  light 
of  day,  but  the  darkness  became  more  terrible  because  of  the  glare 
of  the  red-hot  lava  below  and  the  flashes  of  lightning  above.  Soon 
afterwards  there  was  a  destructive  shower,  extending  for  miles 
around,  of  sand  and  cinders.  A  few  persons  were  burned  to 
death  and  others  were  seriously  injured.  All  experienced  a  suffo- 
A  eating  sensation  and  hastened  on  as  rapidly  as  possible. 

The  hindmost  company  which  was  nearest  to  the  volcano  seemed 
to  suffer  the  least,  and  hastened  forward  after  the  eruption^  con- 
gratulating themselves  upon  their  escape.  iOn  reaching"  their 
comrades  of  the  second  company,  said  to  be  four  hundred  in  num- 
ber (Ellis  says  eighty),  they  were  greatly  surprised  to  find  them 
all  dead,  although  they  retained  lifeTlike  postures.  Not  one  of 
the  party  survived,  except  a  lone  pig^/The  suddenness  and  totality 
of  the  destruction  reads  like  the  story  of  the  disaster  at  Mar- 
tinique, pouring  down  from  Mont  Pelee ;  especially  as ;  Dibble 
adds:  "A  blast  of  sulphurous  gas,  a  shower  of  heated  embers, 
or  a  volume  of  heated  steam  would  sufficiently  account  for  this 
sudden  death.  Some  of  the  narrators,  who  saw  the  corpses,  af- 
firm that  though  ir|  no  place  deeply  burnt,  yet  they  were  thor- 
oughly scorched."  !  !On  their  return,  after  the  final  battle  in  Kau, 
in  about  ten  days  time,  the  bodies  were  still  entire  and  showed 
no  signs  of  decay  except  a  hollowness  of  the  eyes.  They  were 
never  buried,  and  one  of  the  missionaries  is  reported  to  have  seen  ." 
many  years  afterwa'rds  a  human  skull  lying  in  the  volcanic  sand..) 
Keoua  himself  surrendered  to  Taiana  upon  the  hill  of  Makanao, 
one  of  the  buttes  in  Hilea,  described  in  connection  with  the  cal- 
dera  of  Mohokea. 

It  has  been  tacitly  assumed  that  the  place  where  the  soldiers 
were  destroyed  was  near  Kilauea.  The  question  arises  would 
not  the  party  have  taken  the  regular  road  from  Puna  to  Kau. 
If  so,  they  would  have  been  situated  about  five  miles  south  from 
Kilauea.  This  trail  is  indicated  upon  Plate  26  by  the  dotted 
line  leading  from  the  east  border  of  the  map  to  the  sand  dunes, 
close  by  Koae  and  thence  to  the  Halfway  House.  The  first  part 
of  this  trail  follows  a  fault  line.  It  would  seem  not  improbable 
that  the  eruption  came  from  some  vent  now  concealed  from  view, 
because  of  the  distance  from  Kilauea ;  but  if  all  the  material  indi- 
cated upon  the  map  as  ashes  and  tuff  came  out  in  1790,  there 


i67 

could  be  no  doubt  as  to  its  calamitous  effect  upon  the  army,  for 
there  is  an  enormous  deposit  of  volcanic  ashes,  pumice,  scoriae, 
lava  bombs,  stones  and  rocks  spread  over  several  miles  between 
Keanakakoi  and  the  road  from  Puna  to  Kau.  It  must  be  scores 
of  feet  in  thickness.  Were  it  removed,  who  knows  how  much 
farther  the  caldera  beneath  extends  to  the  south  and  southwest ! 

This  deposit  must  have  been  laid  down  by  an  eruption  of  the 
most  violent  type  in  prehistoric  times  long  before  the  passage  of 
the  troops  of  Keoua  from  Hilo  to  Kau  in  1790.  It  was  a  truly 
terrific  discharge,  fully  equal  to  anything  ever  sent  out  from 
Vesuvius;  and  this  enables  us  to  affirm  that  Kilauea  has  some- 
times belonged  to  the  explosive  class  of  volcanoes  and  has  not 
always  been  the  tame  creature  of  today. 

Professor  J.  D.  Dana  explored  the  same  region  in  1887,  and 
was  fully  persuaded  that  the  material  thrown  out  was  connected 
with  the  historic  event  of  1790.  "The  distribution  of  the  ejected 
stones,  ashes  and  scoria  all  around  Kilauea  seems  to  show  that 
the  whole  bottom  of  the  pit  was  in  action ;  yet  the  southern,  as 
usual,  most  intensely  so."  The  heavy  compact  basalts  and  their 
large  use  indicate  that  the  more  deep  seated  rocks  along  the  con- 
duit of  the  volcano  had  been  torn  off  by  the  violent  projectile 
action.  "It  was  an  explosive  eruption  of  Kilauea  such  as  has  not 
been  known  in  more  recent  times." 

(  Professor  Dana  observed  three  varieties  of  volcanic  products 
about  Kilauea  that  seemed  to  have  been  ejected  explosively  from 
the  crater.  At  the  base  from  twenty  to  twenty-five  feet  of  yel- 
lowish brown  tuff  including  very  fine  sand  well  exposed  to  view 
near  fissures.  Above  the  tuff  are  two  or  three  feet  of  coarse 
conglomerate,  including  large  stones ;  and  on  the  summit  twelve 
to  sixteen  inches  thickness  of  a  brownish  sponge-like  scoria, 
analogous  to  pumice,  in  pieces  from  half  an  inch  across  to  two 
or  three  inches.  Less  than  two  per  cent,  of  this  scoria  is  solid : 
it  is  a  network  like  thread  lace.  One  solid  inch  of  the  basalt  glass 
would  make  a  layer  of  scoria  sixty  inches  thick.  Because  of  it£ 
lightness  it  will  float  in  water  and  may  be  easily  carried  off  by . 
the  wind.  It  is  most  abundant  south  and  west  from  the  volcano 
and  may  be  seen  near  Uwekahuna  and  at  the  Volcano  House. 
The  stones  are  about  the  Volcano  House  and  to  the  south  of  the 
caldera.  Towards  Keanakakoi  (the  ejected  stones  of  one  and  two 
cubic  feet  are  common;  others  are  larger.  The  largest  one  seen 
contained  one  hundred  cubic  feet,  and  must  weigh  over  eight 
tons.  Stones  like  this  are  conspicuous  from  one-eighth  to  one- 
half  a  mile  away  from  Kilauea.  <•  Some  of  them  have  been  ob- 
served upon  Uwekahuna.  ;  They  consist  of  the  more  solid  basalts 


1 68 

of  the  neighborhood,  usually  of  a  gray  color  and  somewhat  vesi- 
cular. Some  carry  olivine  and  all  appear  to  belong  to  early 
periods  of  formation.^.  The  tuffs  and  many  stones  make  up  the 
bulk  of  the  cliffs  to  the  south  of  the  caldera. 

The  recent  (1907)  map  of  Kapapala  shows  finely  the 
distribution  of  this  eolian  deposit  to  the  south  and  southeast. 
Not  less  than  twenty  square  miles  have  been  covered  by  it;  ex- 
tending for  five  miles  southerly  and  southwesterly,  or  as  far  as  to 
the  ancient  cone  of  Koae.  There  are  several  volcanic  cones  such 
as  Kearaarea  or  Kamakaia  in  the  midst  of  extensive  fissures,  both 
old  and  new.  To  the  south  of  Koae  are  many  large  sand  dunes 
that  have  been  blown  from  the  ash  accumulations. 

On  the  other  side  of  the  fissures  as  one  follows  the  regular 
road  to  Kau  from  Kilauea  for  nearly  four  miles,,  there  are  numer- 
ous patches  of  fine-grained  drab  tuff  from  two  or  three  to  six  or 
more  inches  in  extent  with  scoriaceous  pieces  and  pisolitic 
spherules  which  are  less  conspicuous  than  the  others,  but  of  the 
same  general  character  and  age. 

Similar  materials  may  be  seen  at  the  saw  mill  for  koa  lumber 
two  miles  from  the  Volcano  House,  and  for  four  or  five  miles 
towards  Glenwood,  so  that  the  entire  area  covered  by  the  debris 
of  explosive  eruptions  is  estimated.^ at  rnore  than  sixty  square^ 
miles.    vThey  are  six  feet  thick  in  tfie  new  r6acl  around  Kilauea' 
.iki.     The  following  section  has  been  made  out : 

At  the  surface,  small  gravel  stones  with  soil ; 

Gravel  two  feet  thick ; 

Sand,  becoming  black  below ; 

Another  foot  thickness  of  sand ; 

Pumice,  a  few  inches  thick,  sometimes  in  pockets ; 

Rubble  stones,  some  as  large  as  cobbles; 

Underlying  rock. 

The  black  seams  are  suggestive  of  a  vegetable  growth,  indi- 
cating a  lengthy  period  when  plants  were  able  to  spread  naturally, 
from  the  surroundings,  only  to  be  covered  later  by  the  volcanic 
rain. 

The  enormous  area  thus  covered  with  explosive  material  ren- 
ders it  probable  that  the  comparatively  mild  discharge  of  1790 
was  inadequate  to  account  for  so  extensive  an  inundation.  There 
must  have  been  several  such  discharges,  perhaps  recurring  during 
centuries  of  time.  Only  a  tithe  of  the  stones  spread  over  the  sur- 
face would  have  been  needed  to  destroy  a  much  larger  detach- 
ment than  that  suffocated  in  1790.  It  would  seem  more  con- 
sonant with  the  facts  to  connect  the  prolific  tuffaeous  and  scoriae- 
ous  discharges  with  the  days  of  Liloa  rather  than  of  Keoua ;  and 


169 

perhaps  Keanakakoi  may  have  been  the  vent  through  which  the 
discharge  came. 

Certain  observations  made  in  1905  may  be  significant  here: 

Opposite  Keanakakoi  in  the  pit  of  Kilauea  there  was  formerly 
exhibited  upon  the  maps  a  "sulphur  bank,"  now  mostly  covered 
by  the  black  ledge.  A  narrow  promontory  still  extends  westerly 
to  the  south  of  Halemaumau,  terminating  at  Kapuai  and  only 
slightly  elevated,  and  covered  with  eolian  debris.  At  the  south- 
west end  of  the  wall  from  Poli  o  Keawe  there  is  an  abrupt  change 
from  basalt  to  scoriae,  and  as  you  climb  to  this  rock  from  the 
gravel  a  marked  fault  appears  with  a  S.W.  direction.  On  look- 
ing backwards  there  is  a  noticeable  dip  of  the  layers  towards 
the  old  sulphur  bank — perhaps  of  ten  degrees.  The  fault  seems 
to  be  the  same  with  that  figured  by  Professor  W.  H.  Pickering.33 

It  seems  apparent  that  the  tuffs  came  from  Keanakakoi,  unless 
they  represent  the  inward  slope  of  the  material  blown  out  from 
Kilauea,  such  as  falls  toward  the  vent  in  tuff  cones.  Most  of  the 
cliff  encircling  the  south  curve  of  Kilauea  is  composed  of  similar 
materials. 

Dr.  Brigham  speaks  of  several  shallow  pits  in  this  tuff  that 
were  made  by  the  falling  down  or  washing  into  fissures  the  finer 
parts  of  the  sand  and  gravel.  All  these  facts  impress  one  with 
the  magnitude  and  unusual  character  of  the  materials  erupted 
about  Keanakakoi. 

While  there  has  been  uncertainty  about  the  date  and  origin  of 
the  various  Kau  accumulations  of  dust,  it  is  refreshing  to  be  able 
to  present  the  views  of  Mr.  E.  D.  Baldwin,  obtained  recently  as 
the  result  of  his  survey  for  the  Kapapala  map.  He  finds  that 
much  of  the  fine  volcanic  ash  has  been  derived  from  a  Kilauean 
source ;  while  there  were  earlier  discharges  in  lower  Kau  and  at 
Ka  Lae  not  thus  accounted  for.  These  have  been  mentioned 
elsewhere  in  connection  with  the  history  of  Mauna  Loa. 

E.  D.  BALDWIN  UPON  THE  YELLOW  ASHES  OF  KAU. 

As  to  the  sources  of  the  yellow  ash  eruption,  I  would  state,  that 
I  found  a  partial  old  yellow  cone  in  among  the  Kamakaia  hills, 
or  the  hills  some  three  miles  back  of  the  Halfway  House.  The 
first  source  of  the  1823  flow  was  three  miles  above  these  hills, 
from  a  long  fissure,  and  then  it  seems  to  have  broken  out  again, 
in  its  line  of  flow  at  these  hills,  forming  the  two  larger  cones. 
Near  the  large  cone  are  two  ancient  cones,  surrounded  by  the  new 
lava,  one  of  these  was  completely  spattered  and  plastered  over 


83  Hawaiian  and  Lunar  Craters  Compared,  Fig.  39. 


by  the  ejections  from  the  large  cone ;  it  was  on  this  cone,  while 
riding  along  its  base,  that  my  horse  broke  through  the  crust,  and 
while  floundering  around  for  a  footing  brought  up  large  quanti- 
ties of  yellow  tufa,  of  exactly  the  same  nature  as  the  black  tufa, 
only  it  was  of  a  beautiful  yellow  ocher  color.  On  investigation  I 
found  that  a  large  portion  of  this  cone  was  composed  of  the  same 
material. 

About  a  mile  below  Kamakaia  hills,  in  the  middle  of  the  1823 
flow,  is  what  we  call  the  yellow  cone.  This  cone  had  attracted  my 
attention  several  times  from  a  distance,  as  being  of  a  yellowish 
color  on  all  sides  that  we  had  observed  it  from.  I  thought,  of 
course,  that  like  the  little  sharp  cone,  Puu  Kou,  between  it  and 
the  Kamakaia  hills,  it  was  a  portion  of  the  1823  lava  flow, 
but  when  we  went  out  to  the  cone,  we  found  that  it  was  the  top 
of  an  old  cone  sticking  up  through  the  1823  flow,  which  flow  had 
run  all  around  the  same,  and  into  the  crater  of  the  cone.  This  cone 
was  very  interesting,  its  formation  was  exactly  the  same  as  all  of 
the  dark  colored  tufa  cones,  with  the  exception  of  color,  which 
was  entirely  of  the  yellow  tufa,  which,  when  crushed  in  the  hand 
to  fine  powder,  had  exactly  the  same  appearance  as  the  Kau  yellow 
soils.  In  the  crater  of  the  cone  were  the  same  brilliantly  red 
tufas  that  you  find  in  the  craters  of  all  other  cones.  The  top  of 
the  cone  stands  forty  or  fifty  feet  above  the  1823  flow,  and  must 
be  several  hundred  feet  in  circumference  at  the  flow  line.  At 
this  point  the  land  lays  more  or  less  level,  with  a  gentle  slope 
towards  the  sea,  so  that  the  1823  flow  seems  to  have  piled  up  to  a 
great  height  and  spread  out  to  over  a  mile  wide ;  showing  that  this 
was  a  very  large  cone  in  its  original  state. 

There  are  further  evidences  of  the  yellow  eruptions  some  ten 
miles  from  these  cones  mentioned  above.  The  great  hill  Puu 
Kapukapu,  at  the  sea  coast,  is  largely  composed  of  the  Kau  yel- 
low soil,  also  just  to  the  Kau  side  of  this  hill,  is  the  great  hill 
Puu  Kaone,  having  a  low  flat  top,  containing  sixty  acres  of  first 
class  agricultural  land,  composed  entirely  of  the  Kau  yellow  soil, 
of  a  depth  of  over  thirty  feet,  as  observed  in  the  little  rain-washed 
gullies  on  the  same.  Also  on  the  face  of  the  great  pali  or  fault 
line,  near  the  top,  on  a  line  towards  Kamakaia  hills  from  Puu 
Kapukapu,  I  noticed  a  large  yellow  patch. 

None  of  the  sources  of  the  yellow  eruptions,  that  I  have  men- 
tioned, would  account  for  the  lower  Kau  yellow  soil,  and  that 
on  the  Kau  side  of  Ka  Lae  or  South  Point,  as  the  prevailing 
winds  in  this  district  seem  to  sweep  from  the  volcano  (Kilauea) 
down  past  the  Kamakaia  hills,  and  from  there  they  meet  the 


I/I 

winds  coming  around  from  the  sea  coast,  which  seem  to  turn  the 
air  currents  inland  again. 

My  theory  is,  that  at  some  ancient  period,  there  was  a  great 
line  of  yellow  eruptions,  extending  from  Puu  Kapukapu  (near 
Keauhou),  past  the  Kamakaia  hills  to  the  lower  portion  of  Kau, 
and  that  the  sources  of  this  yellow  eruption  in  the  lower  part  of 
Kau  have  been  covered  up  with  later  flows,  or  other  volcanic  ac- 
tion, and  that  the  great  beds  of  yellow  soil  that  we  find  today  all 
over  Kau,  were  blown  there  from  these  sources,  before  they  were 
covered  up.  All  of  the  yellow,  soil  on  the  Pahala  plantation,  or 
towards  the  volcano  from  Pahala,  is  directly  on  the  line  of  the 
prevailing  winds  from  the  direction  of  Kamakaia  hills,  Yellow 
cone,  and  a  short  ways  below  the  same.  I  have  especially  noticed 
in  the  cuts  on  the  Volcano-Kau  road,  just  above  the  Pahala  mill, 
that  the  old  aa  formation  seems  to'  be  full  of  this  yellow  dust.  If 
one  will  go  and  study  the  action  of  the  wind  on  the  great  masses  of 
volcanic  sand  being  blown,  at  present,  from  Kilauea  towards  Ka- 
makaia hills,  it  will  be  noted  that  when  this  sand  strikes  an  aa 
flow,  its  forward  progress  is  stopped,  until  it  has  filled  and  sifted 
into  all  of  the  little  crevices  of  the  aa.  From  Kilauea  to  near 
Kamakaia  hills  is  a  nearly  barren  field  of  pahoehoe,  and  the  sand 
is  driven  along  this  space  at  a  great  pace,  until  it  reaches  the  aa 
at  the  Kamakaia  hills,  and  there  it  has  been  blocked  up  and  is  in 
many  cases  forming  numerous  sand  dunes.  Some  of  these  sand 
dunes  are  very  extensive,  being  four  or  five  hundred  feet  long 
and  over  fifty  feet  high. 

ELLIS'  DESCRIPTION  OF  KILAUEA. 

The  first  edition  of  the  Journal  of  the  Tour  Around  Hawaii  was 
published  in  1825.  Eight  years  later  it  was  reprinted  with  addi- 
tions and  emendations  as  Polynesian  Researches,  in  four  volumes 
and  some  of  the  original  statements  were  modified.  There  were 
English  editions  also.  I  will  utilize  the  additions  and  corrections 
given  in  the  later  edition. 

"We  found  ourselves,"  he  says,  "on  the  edge  of  a  steep  preci- 
pice (Uwekahuna)  with  a  vast  plain  before  us,"  seven  and  one- 
half  miles  in  circumference,  and  sunk  at  least  eight  hundred  feet 
"below  its  original  level.  The  surface  of  this  plain  was  uneven, 
and  strewed  over  with  large  stones  and  volcanic  rocks."  A  place 
was  found  at  the  north  end  where  a  descent  to  the  plain  below  was 
found  practicable,  and  even  yet  the  stones  gave  way  under  their 
feet  causing  them  to  fall  and  receive  bruises.  The  rocks  were 
of  a  "light  red  and  gray  lava,  vesicular,  and  lying1  in  horizontal 


172 

strata,  varying  in  thickness  from  one  to  forty  feet.  In  a  small 
number  of  places  the  different  strata  of  lava  were  also  rent  in 
perpendicular  or  oblique  directions,  from  the  top  to  the  bottom, 
either  by  earthquakes  or  other  violent  convulsions  of  the  ground 
connected  with  the  action  of  the  adjacent  volcano."  "The  im- 
mense gulf  has  the  form  of  a  crescent  two  miles  long  from  north- 
east to  southwest  and  a  mile  in  width."  "The  bottom  was  cov- 
ered with  lava,  and  the  southwest  and  northern  parts  of  it  were 
one  vast  flood  of  burning  matter,  in  a  state  of  terrific  ebullition, 
rolling  to  and  fro  its  "fiery  surge"  and  flaming  billows.  Fifty- 
one  conical  islands  (spiracles),  of  varied  form  and  size,  contain- 
ing as  many  craters,  rose  either  round  the  edge  or  from  the  sur- 
face of  the  burning  lake.  Twenty-two  constantly  emitted  col- 
umns of  gray  smoke  or  pyramids  of  brilliant  flame;  and  several 
of  these  at  the  same  time  vomited  from  their  ignited  mouths 
streams  of  lava,  which  rolled  in  blazing  torrents  down  their  black 
indented  sides  into  the  boiling  mass  below." 

Next  follows  a  paragraph  added  in  the  later  edition,  a  theoretical 
deduction.  "The  existence  of  these  conical  craters  led  us  to  con- 
clude that  the  boiling  caldron  of  lava  before  us  did  not  form  the 
focus  of  the  volcano;  that  this  mass  of  melted  lava  was  compara- 
tively shallow ;  and  that  the  basin  in  which  it  was  contained  was 
separated,  by  a  stratum  of  solid  matter,  from  the  great  volcanic 
abyss,  which  constantly  poured  out  its  melted  contents  through 
these  numerous  craters  into  this  upper  reservoir.  We  were  fur- 
ther inclined  to  this  opinion  from  the  vast  column  of  vapor  con- 
tinually ascending  from  the  chasms  in  the  vicinity  of  the  sulphur 
banks  and  pools  of  water,  for  they  must  have  been  produced  by 
other  fire  than  that  which  caused  the  ebullition  in  the  lava  at  the 
bottom  of  the  great  crater ;  and  also  by  noticing  a  number  of  small 
craters  in  vigorous  action,  situated  high  up  the  sides  of  the  great 
gulf,  and  apparently  quite  detached  from  it.  The  streams  of 
lava  which  they  emitted  rolled  down  into  the  lake  and  mingled 
with  the  melted  mass,  which,  though  thrown  up  by  different 
apertures,  had  perhaps  been  originally  fused  in  one  vast  furnace." 

"The  sides  of  the  gulf  before  us,  although  composed  of  differ- 
ent strata  of  ancient  lava  were  perpendicular  for  about  (nine) 
hundred  feet  (as  calculated  by  Lieut.  Maiden  later)  and  rose 
from  a  wide  horizontal  ledge  of  solid  black  lava  of  irregular 
breadth,  but  extending  completely  round.  Beneath  this  ledge  the 
sides  sloped  gradually  towards  the  burning  lake,  which  was,  as 
nearly  as  one  could  judge,  three  or  four  hundred  feet  lower.  It 
was  evident  that  the  large  crater  had  been  recently  filled  with 
liquid  lava  up  to  the  black  ledge,  and  had  by  some  subterranean 


173 

canal  emptied  itself  into  the  sea,  or  upon  the  lowland  on  the 
shore."  And  he  goes  on  to  suggest  that  this  discharge  was  what 
they  had  seen  at  Ponahoahoa  a  short  time  previously.  This  erup- 
tion is  reported  at  one  time  two  moons  and  at  another  five  moons 
earlier  than  that  date  of  August  ist.  I  have  already  presented 
a  figure  illustrating  this  flow  to  the  southwest. 

It  has  been  difficult  to  be  entirely  satisfied  with  some  of  the 
details  offered  in  this  sketch,  because  of  repetitions,  and  of  dif- 
ferences in  the  accompanying  sketches.  The  first  are  explained  by 
the  supposition  that  to  the  original  statement  additions  were  made 
by  others  of  the  party;  and  the  second  may  be  due  to  the  artist 
or  engraver  who  make  changes  to  suit  fancy.  The  earlier  ac- 
count of  all  the  Hawaiian  volcanoes  have  been  more  or  less  influ- 
enced by  a  supposed  similarity  to  Vesuvius.  Instead  of  repro- 
ducing the  sketches,  I  will  present  a  restoration  of  what  seem  to 
me  to  be  the  true  delineation  of  the  cliffs,  the  black  ledge  and  the 
lakes  of  fire,  as  they  appeared  in  1823,  Plate  2/B.  The  verbal  de- 
scription of  the  volcano  given  above  by  Mr.  Ellis  represents  things 
as  seen  from  Uwekahuna,  but  the  views  published  must  have 
been  taken  from  the  opposite  side  of  the  pit,  showing  the  place  on 
which  he  stood  when  he  obtained  his  impressions. 

The  -descriptions  of  the  two  sulphur  banks  correspond  to  what 
have  been  seen  later  by  others.  The  one  at  the  north  end  was  said 
to  be  about  one  hundred  and  fifty  yards  long,  and  thirty  feet  high 
at  the  maximum,  showing  much  sulphur  mixed  with  red  clay. 
The  ground  was  hot,  fissures  seamed  the  surface  through  which 
thick  vapors  continually  ascended.  Fine  crystals  of  sulphur  ap- 
peared in  acicular  light  yellow  prisms  near  the  surface;  those 
lower  down  were  of  an  orange-yellow  color  in  single  or  double 
tctrahedral  pyramids  an  inch  long.  Ammonium  sulphate,  alum 
and  gypsum  frequently  incrusted  the  stems.  The  other  sulphur 
bank  was  larger  and  the  sulphur  more  abundant,  but  they  did  not 
find  time  to  examine  it  carefully.  Both  these  banks  correspond 
to  what  is  now  called  a  solfatara. 

The  view  by  night  was  impressive.  "The  agitated  mass  of 
liquid  lava,  like  a  flood  of  melted  metal,  raged  with  tumultuous 
whirl.  The  lively  flame  that  danced  over  its  undulating  surface, 
tinged  with  sulphureous  blue,  or  glowing  with  mineral  red,  cast  a 
broad  glare  of  dazzling  light  on  the  indented  sides  of  the  insulated 
craters,  whose  roaring  mouths,  amid  rising  flames  and  eddying 
streams  of  fire,  shot  up,  at  frequent  intervals,  with  very  loud  de- 
tonations, spherical  masses  of  fusing  lava  or  bright  ignited 
stones." 

Mr.  Ellis  correctly  named  the  rock,  calling  it  basalt  containing 


174 

fine  grains  of  feldspar  and  augite,  with  olivine.  He  also  found 
zeolites  and  described  the  volcanic  glass  called  Pele's  hair  by  the 
natives.  He  conceived  it  to  have  been  produced  by  a  separation 
of  fine  spun  threads  from  the  boiling  fluid,  and  when  borne  by  the 
smoke  above  the  edges  of  the  crater  had  been  wafted  by  the  winds 
over  the  adjacent  plain.  He  examined  several  of  the  small 
craters,  which  from  above  had  appeared  like  mole  hills,  and  found 
them  to  be  from  twelve  to  twenty  feet  high.  The  outside  was 
composed  of  bright  shining  scoria  and  the  inside  was  red  with  a 
glazed  surface.  He  also  entered  several  tunnels  through  which 
the  lava  had  flowed  into  the  abyss,  and  correctly  ascribes  their 
origin  to  the  formation  of  the  roof  and  sides  by  the  cooling  of 
the  exterior,  while  the  liquid  for  a  time  continued  to  flow  in  the 
inside.  Professor  Dana  thinks  that  the  fan  figured  on  the  west 
wall  in  the  first  sketch  of  the  south  end  of  the  volcano  was  one  of 
these  tunnels,  but  it  seems  to  me  that  it  was  only  a  fan  of  gravelly 
scoriae.  It  appeared  as  an  isolated  cone  in  the  second  sketch,  de- 
tached from  the  wall,  probably  because  the  engraver  did  not  know 
what  else  to  do  with  it.  Dr.  S.  E.  Bishop  tells  me  that  this  fan 
was  very  conspicuous  when  he  first  visited  the  volcano  seventy 
years  ago,  and  at  his  suggestion  I  looked  for  it  in  1905  and  could 
identify  its  location.  Probably  the  tunnels  were  upon  the  eastern 
side,  where  later  flows,  such  as  those  made  in  1832,  are  still  in 
evidence.  These  tunnels  were  represented  as  being  hung  with 
red  and  brown  stalactitic  lava,  while  the  floor  appeared  like  one 
continued  glassy  stream.  The  riffle  of  the  surface  was  as  well 
defined  as  if  the  lava  had  suddenly  stopped  and  become  indurated 
before  it  had  time  to  settle  down  to  horizontality. 

It  would  appear  from  what  has  been  stated  that  there  was  more 
than  one  lake  of  fire  at  this  time,  and  that  there  was  a  great  abyss 
into  which  the  surplus  lava  from  the  higher  lake  and  the  streams 
through  the  tunnels  had  accumulated.  Mr.  Ellis  also  speaks  of 
the  two  side  craters  Keanakakoi  and  Kilauea  iki,  thus  proving 
that  these  names  were  in  use  in  1823,  and  he  seems  to  have  been 
the  originator  of  the  expression  "black  ledge,"  which  represented 
the  level  assumed  by  the  molten  lava  before  the  recent  discharge 
to  the  southwest.  He  speaks  of  many  masses  of  grey  basaltic 
rock,  weighing  from  one  to  four  and  five  tons,  and  surmised  that 
they  had  been  ejected  from  the  great  crater  during  some  violent 
eruption.  Not  to  present  more  of  his  truthful  descriptions,  I  will 
refer  only  to  his  final  speculation  of  the  extent  of  the  present 
subterranean  fires.  The  whole  island  of  Hawaii  was  said  to  be 
"one  complete  mass  of  lava,  or  other  volcanic  matter  in  different 
stages  of  decomposition.  Perforated  with  innumerable  apertures 


175 

in  the  shape  of  craters,  the  island  forms  a  hollow  cone  over  one 
vast  furnace,  situated  in  the  heart  of  a  stupendous  submarine 
mountain,  rising  from  the  bottom  of  the  sea,"  etc.34 

THE  BELIEF  IN  PELE. 

"The  apprehensions  uniformly  entertained  by  the  natives  of  the 
fearful  consequences  of  Pele's  anger  prevented  their  paying  very 
frequent  visits  to  the  vicinity  of  her  abode;  and  when,  on  their 
inland  journeys,  they  had  occasion  to  approach  Kilauea,  they  were 
scrupulously  attentive  to  every  injunction  of  her  priests,  and  re- 
garded with  a  degree  of  superstitious  veneration  and  awe  the  ap- 
palling spectacle  which  the  crater  and  its  appendages  presented. 
The  violations  of  her  sacred  abode,  and  the  insults  to  her  person, 
of  which  we  had  been  guilty,  appeared  to  them,  and  to  the  natives 
in  general,  acts  of  temerity  and  sacrilege ;  and,  notwithstanding 
the  fact  of  our  being  foreigners,  we  were  subsequently  threatened 
with  the  vengeance  of  the  volcanic  deity  under  the  following  cir- 
cumstances.35 

"Some  months  after  our  visit  to  Kirauea,  a  priestess  of  Pele 
came  to  Lahaina,  in  Maui,  where  the  principal  chiefs  of  the 
islands  then  resided.  The  object  of  her  visit  was  noised  abroad 
among  the  people,  and  much  public  interest  excited.  One  or  two 
mornings  after  her  arrival  in  the  district,  arrayed  in  her  pro- 
phetic robes,  having  the  edges  of  her  garments  burnt  with  fire, 
and  holding  a  short  staff  or  spear  in  her  hand,  preceded  by  her 
daughter,  who  was  also  a  candidate  for  the  office  of  priestess, 
and  followed  by  thousands  of  the  people,  she  came  into  the  pres- 
ence of  the  chiefs ;  and  having  told  who  she  was,  they  asked  what 
communcations  she  had  to  make.  She  replied  that,  in  a  trance 
or  vision,  she  had  been  with  Pele,  by  whom  she  was  charged  to 
complain  to  them  that  a  number  of  foreigners  had  visited  Kilauea ; 
eaten  the  sacred  berries ;  broken  her  houses,  the  craters ;  thrown 
down  large  stones,  etc. — to  request  that  the  offenders  might  be 
sent  away, — and  to  assure  them,  that  if  these  foreigners  were  not 
banished  from  the  islands,  Pele  would  certainly  in  a  given  num- 
ber of  days,  take  vengeance,  by  inundating  the  country  with  lava, 
and  destroying  the  people.  She  also  pretended  to  have  received 
in  a  supernatural  manner,  Rihoriho's  approbation  of  the  request 
of  the  goddess.  The  crowds  of  natives  who  stood  waiting  the 
result  of  her  interview  with  the  chiefs  were  almost  as  much  as- 
tonished as  the  priestess  herself,  when  Kaahumanu,  and  the  other 

84  Polynesian  Eesearches,  Vol.  IV,  pp.  174  to  198  passim. 

85  P.  202,  Vol.  IV,  Polynesian  Eesearches,  William  Ellis,  1833. 


176 

chiefs,  ordered  all  her  paraphernalia  of  office  to  be  thrown  into 
the  fire,  told  her  the  message  she  had  delivered  was  a  falsehood, 
and  directed  her  to  return  home,  cultivate  the  ground  for  her 
subsistence,  and  discontinue  her  deceiving  the  people. 

"This  answer  was  dictated  by  the  chiefs  themselves.  The  mis- 
sionaries at  the  station,  although  they  were  aware  of  the  visit  of 
the  priestess,  and  saw  her,  followed  by  the  thronging  crowd, 
pass  by  their  habitation  on  the  way  to  the  residence  of  the  chiefs, 
did  not  think  it  necessary  to  attend  or  interfere,  but  relied  en- 
tirely on  the  enlightened  judgment  and  integrity  of  the  chiefs,  to 
suppress  any  attempt  that  might  be  made  to  revive  the  influence 
of  Pele  over  the  people ;  and  in  the  result  they  were  not  disap- 
pointed, for  the  natives  returned  to  their  habitations,  and  the 
priestess  soon  after  left  the  island,  and  has  not  since  troubled  them 
with  threatenings  of  the  goddess. 

"On  another  occasion,  Kapiolani,36  a  royal  princess,  the  wife 
of  Naihe,  chief  of  Kaavaroa,  was  passing  near  the  volcano,  and 
expressed  her  determination  to  visit  it.  Some  of  the  devotees  of 
the  goddess  met  her  and  attempted  to  dissuade  her  from  her  pur- 
pose; assuring-  her  that  though  foreigners  might  go  there  with 
security,  yet  Pele  would  allow  no  Hawaiian  to  intrude.  Kapio- 
lani, however,  was  not  to  be  thus  diverted,  but  proposed  that  they 
should  all  go  together ;  and  declaring  that  if  Pele  appeared,  or  in- 
flicted any  punishment,  she  would  then  worship  the  goddess,  but 
proposing  that  if  nothing  of  the  kind  took  place,  they  should  re- 
nounce their  attachment  to  Pele,  and  join  with  her  and  her  friends 
in  acknowledging  Jehovah  as  the  true  God.  They  all  went  to- 
gether to  the  volcano ;  Kapiolani,  with  her  attendants,  descended 
several  hundred  feet  towards  the  bottom  of  the  crater,  -where  she 
spoke  to  them  of  the  delusion  they  had  formerly  labored  under  in 
supposing  it  inhabited  by  their  false  gods ;  they  sang  a  hymn,  and 
after  spending  several  hours  in  the  vicinity,  pursued  their  jour- 
ney. What  effect  the  conduct  of  Kapiolani,  on  this  occasion, 
will  have  on  the  natives  in  general,  remains  to  be  discovered." 

KAPIOLANI. 

BY  ALFRED,  LORD  TENNYSON. 

When  from  the  terrors  of  nature  a  people 
Have  fashioned  and  worshipped  a  Spirit  of  Evil, 
Blest  be  the  voice  of  the  teacher  who  calls  to  them, 
"Set  yourselves  free  P 


"Kapiolani  was  the  daughter  of  Keawemauhile,  the  former  king  of 
Hilo,  slain  by  Keoua  in  1790. 


177 

Noble  the  Saxon  who  hurled  at  his  idol 
A  valorous  weapon  in  olden  England ! 
Great,  and  greater,  and  greatest  of  women, 
Island  heroine,  Kapiolani, 
Clomb  the  mountain,  and  flung  the  berries, 
And  dared  the  Goddess,  and  freed  the  people 

Of  Hawaii ! 

This  people, — believing  that  Pele  the  Goddess, 
Would  swallow  in  fiery  riot  and  revel 

On  Kilauea, 

Dance  in  a  fountain  of  flame  with  her  devils, 
Or  shake  with  her  thunders  and  shatter  her  island. 

Rolling  her  anger 

Through  blasted  valleys  and  flowing  forest 
In  blood-red  cataracts  down  to  the  sea ! 

HS         *         *         *         *         * 

Long  as  the  lava  light  glares  from  the  lava  lake, 

Dazing  the  starlight ; 
Long  as  the  silvery  vapor  in  daylight 
Over  the  mountain  floats,  will  the  glory 
Of  Kapiolani  be  mingled  with  either 

On  Hawaii. 

What  said  her  Priesthood, 

"Woe  to  this  island  if  ever  a  woman  should  handle 
Or  gather  the  berries  of  Pele !     Accursed  were  she ! 
And  woe  to  this  island  if  ever  a  woman 
Should  climb  to  the  dwelling  of  Pele  the  Goddess ! 

Accursed  were  she !" 

#     *     *     *     *     * 

One  from  the  sunrise  dawned  on  His  people, 
And  slowly  before  Him  vanished  shadow-like 

Gods  and  Goddesses, 
None  but  the  terrible  Pele  remaining, 
As  Kapiolani  ascended  her  mountain, 
Baffled  her  priesthood,  broke  the  tabu, 

Descended  the  crater, 

Called  on  the  Power  adored  by  the  Christian, 
And  crying,  "I  dare  her !     Let  Pele  avenge  herself !" 
Into  the  flame  dashed  down  the  berries, 
And  drove  the  demon  from  Hawaii ! 

THE  TRUE  STORY  OF  PELE. 

King  Kalakaua  recovered  from  the  traditions  handed  down  for 
many  generations  the  true  story  of  Pele,  and  has  presented  it  in 


178 

his  book  under  the  heading  of  The  Apotheosis  of  Pele.  It  seems 
that  there  was  a  large  family,  five  brothers  and  nine  sisters,  emi- 
grating from  Tahiti  during  the  reign  of  Kamiole  the  usurper 
about  A.  D.  1175.  Their  names  are  given  by  Ellis  as  follows: 
Kamohoarii;  Tapohaita  hiora  (the  explosion  in  the  place  of  life)  ; 
Teuaatepo  (the  rain  of  night;  Tanehetiri  (husband  of  thunder  or 
thundering  Tane)  and  Teoahitamatana  (fire-thrusting  child  of 
war).  These  were  all  brothers,  two  of  them,  like  Vulcan  being 
humpbacked.  The  sisters  were  Pele,  the  principal  goddess ;  Ma- 
fcorewawahiwa  (fiery-eyed  canoe  breaker)  ;  Hiataholani  (heaven- 
rending  cloud  holder)  ;  Hiatanoholani  (heaven-dwelling  cloud 
liolder);  Hiatata  aravamata  (quick-glancing-eyed  cloud  holder,  or 
the  cloud  holder  whose  eyes  turn  quickly  and  look  frequently  over 
her  shoulders)  ;  Hiatahoiteporiopele  (the  cloud  holder  embrac- 
ing or  kissing  the  bosom  of  Pele)  ;  Hiatatabuenaena  (the  red-hot 
mountain  holding  or  lifting  clouds)  ;  Hiatatareia  (the  weather 
•garland-encircled  cloud  holder)  ;  and  Hiataopio  (young  cloud 
holder). 

This  family  with  many  others  in  their  train  settled  about 
Kilauea.  Pele  was  a  valiant  warrior.  Kamapuaa  was  attracted 
by  the  merits  of  Pele,  visiting  Kilauea,  and  made  proposals  to 
become  her  guest  and  suitor.  In  many  of  the  annals  he  is  repre- 
sented as  half  human  and  half  hog — but  Kalakaua  explains  that 
he  was  simply  a  rough,  stalwart  man  with  coarse  black  bristly 
hair  of  unprepossessing  appearance,  and  called  a  half  hog  in 
derision.  Pele  rejected  his  proposals  with  contempt,  calling  him 
a  hog  and  the  son  of  a  hog.  A  combat  ensued,  and  the  Pele  family 
were  worsted,  and  retreated  to  one  of  the  long  volcanic  tunnels 
marking  the  course  of  an  earlier  lava  flow  ,and  the  entrance  was 
closed.  The  party  consisted  of  two  men  and  eighteen  women 
and  children.  Kamapuaa  finally  discovered  the  retreat  and  dug 
down  into  it  from  above.  Just  then  there  came  a  flow  of  lava 
which  drove  away  the  besiegers,  who  believed  the  people  within 
the  cave  had  been  destroyed.  Because  of  this  timely  eruption  it 
was  believed  that  Pele  had  the  power  of  calling  up  the  fire,  and 
she  became  apotheosized  as  a  goddess.  As  time  went  on  the  vari- 
ous eruptions  were  ascribed  to  some  of  Pele's  movements.  The 
whole  island  was  considered  bound  to  pay  tribute;  and  if  the 
proper  offerings  were  not  given  to  her  votaries  the  caldera  would 
be  filled  with  lava  and  made  to  follow  the  delinquents. 


179 

KTTiAJTEA  IN  1824. 

In  1824  Kilauea  was  visited  by  E.  Loomis,37  June  i6th,  who 
came  from  the  southwest.  After  reaching  a  point  two  miles  from 
the  crater  he  was  annoyed  by  smoke  blowing  in  his  face,  accom- 
panied by  sulphur  fumes.  The  air,  too,  was  filled  with  fine  par- 
ticles of  sand,  rendering  it  necessary  to  protect  his  face  from  their 
impact ;  and  the  surface  of  the  ground  was  covered  by  it,  his  feet 
sinking  into  it  six  or  eight  inches  at  every  step.  From  crevices 
five  miles  west  of  the  crater  smoke  was  issuing,  and  occasionally 
the  forced  ejection  was  great  enough  to  produce  an  irregular  hiss- 
ing sound.  At  the  southwest  end  of  the  volcano  the  smoke  was 
so  dense  that  little  could  be  seen,  and  farther  on  much  rain  fell. 
He  took  the  road  on  the  east  side.  From  two  hundred  and  fifty 
to  three  hundred  feet  below  the  edge  was  a  level  platform,  ex- 
tending entirely  around  the  crater,  which  was  evidently  the  "black 
ledge"  of  Ellis.  This  platform  was  fifteen  rods  wide  where  he 
descended,  probably  near  the  "sulphur  banks"  as  now  designated. 
He  had  little  difficulty  in  reaching  the  black  ledge.  Having  now 
descended  six  hundred  feet  ,Mr.  Loomis  walked  upon  the  lower 
platform  whose  surface  was  smooth,  though  not  level,  rising  in 
heaps  like  cocks  of  hay  and  broken  by  innumerable  fissures. 

The  lava  was  black,  porous  like  pumice,  and  traversed  by 
crevices  emitting  very  hot  steam.  Proceeding  eight  or  ten  rods 
he  reached  another  escarpement  of  two  hundred  or  three  hundred 
feet  deep  leading  to  the  floor  of  the  most  active  portion,  from 
which  smoke  and  flames  of  fire  were  issuing.  There  seemed  to  be 
small  craters  (spiracles)  where  the  fire  burst  forth  attended  by 
a  horrid  noise.  He  was  quite  disappointed  in  not  finding  this 
lowest  platform  a  mass  of  liquid  fire,  as  it  had  been  the  year  previ- 
ous. The  surface  had  become  hard,  and  he  presumed  he  could 
have  walked  over  it  safely  but  he  did  not  descend  to  it  as  the  sides 
were  too  steep  to  allow  of  a  comfortable  passage.  This  record  is 
quite  important,  as  it  shows  a  period  of  comparative  quiet  at  the 
center  of  eruption  following  the  intense  activity  reported  by  Ellis 
in  the  previous  year. 

VISIT  OF  LORD  BYEON. 

In  the  year  1825,  July  28th,  a  party  from  the  "Blonde"  visited 
the  crater,  Lord  George  Anson  Byron  being  the  leader.  Others 
were  Rev.  C.  C.  Stewart  and  Lieut.  Maiden,  the  historians,  and 
R.  Dampier,  the  artist. 


87  From  an  unpublished  journal,  printed  by  W.  T.  Brigham. 


i8o 

The  hut  used  by  the  company  was  situated  upon  the  narrow 
plain  between  Kilauea  and  Kilauea  iki.  It  had  been  erected  a 
year  or  two  earlier  for  the  accommodation  of  Kapiolani.  Lieut. 
Maiden  calculated  the  height  of  the  upper  cliff,  Uwekahuna,  to  be 
nine  hundred  feet  above  the  black  ledge,  and  the  depth  of  the 
lower  pit  at  six  hundred  feet,  a  total  of  1,500  feet.  The  circum- 
ference of  the  edge  of  the  black  ledge  was  from  five  to  seven  miles 
and  that  of  the  top  from  eight  to  ten  miles. 

Mr.  Stewart  speaks  of  the  black  ledge  as  a  kind  of  gallery,  in 
some  places  only  a  few  feet,  in  others  many  rods  wide.  The  gulf 
below  contains  as  many  as  sixty  small  conical  craters,  many  in 
constant  action.  The  tops  and  sides  of  two  or  three  of  these  are 
covered  with  sulphur,  showing  mingled  shades  of  yellow  and 
green.  The  upper  cliffs  on  the  northern  and  western  sides  are  of 
a  red  color.  Those  on  the  eastern  side  are  less  precipitous  and 
are  largely  composed  of  sulphur.  The  south  end  was  wholly  ob- 
scured by  smoke  which  was  impenetrable.  The  chief  seat  of 
action  seemed  to  be  at  the  southwestern  end  (Halemaumau).  To 
the  north  of  this  is  one  of  the  largest  of  the  smaller  craters — one 
hundred  and  eighty  feet  high — an  irregularly  shaped  inverted 
funnel  of  lava  covered  with  clefts,  orifices  and  tunnels,  from  which 
bodies  of  steam  escaped  with  deafening  explosion,  while  pale 
flames,  ashes,  stones  and  lava  were  propelled  with  equal  force 
and  noise  from  its  ragged  and  yawning  mouth. 

On  the  evening  of  the  following  day  (2Qth)  after  terrific  noises 
and  tremblings  of  the  ground,  "a  dense  column  of  heavy  black 
smoke  was  seen  rising  from  the  crater  directly  in  front  of  us — 
the  subterranean  struggle  ceased — and  immediately  afterwards 
flames  burst  from,  a  large  cone,  near  which  we  had  been  in  the 
morning,  and  which  then  appeared  to  have  been  long  inactive. 
Red-hot  stones,  cinders  and  ashes,  were  also  propelled  to  a  great 
height  with  immense  violence;  and  shortly  after  the  molten  lava 
came  boiling  up,  and  flowed  down  the  sides  of  the  cone  and  over 
the  surrounding  scoriae,  in  two  beautifully  curved  streams."  At 
the  same  time  a  lake  of  molten  lava  two  miles  in  circumference 
made  it  appearance. 

Rev.  Artemas  Bishop,  in  December,  states  that  the  pit  was  not 
so  deep  as  in  1823  at  the  time  of  Ellis'  visit  by  as  much  as  four 
hundred  feet.  There  were  also  lakes  of  lava,  frequently  discharg- 
ing gusts  of  vapor  and  smoke  with  great  noise.  As  an  evidence 
of  oft  repeated  eruptions  from:  Kilauea,  the  natives  remarked  to 
Mr.  Bishop,  that  after  rising  a  little  higher  the  lava  would  dis- 
charge itself  towards  the  sea  through  some  subterranean  aperture. 

Rev.  Mr.  Stewart  visited  Kilauea  again  in  October,  1829.     The 


lower  pit  had  been  filled  up  more  than  two  hundred  feet,  and  there 
was  more  fire  at  the  northern  end.  Many  of  the  cones  had  dis- 
appeared, but  he  was  greatly  interested  in  two  of  them — each  one 
about  twenty  feet  high — tapering  from  a  point  above  to  a  base 
sixty  feet  in  circumference.  They  were  hollow,  with  steam, 
vapors  and  flame  issuing  from  crevices  and  roaring  so  as  to  merit 
the  appellation  of  "blow  holes,"  or  "spiracles,"  as  named  by  G. 
Poulett  Scrope. 

VISIT  OF  HIEAM  BINGHAM. 

Rev.  Hiram  Bingham,  spent  thirty  hours  at  the  volcano  October 
2Oth  and  2ist,  1830.  He  represented  the  altitude  to  be  4,000  feet, 
ten  thousand  below  Mauna  Loa.  Six  hundred  feet  below  the  rim 
"stretched  around  horizontally  a  vast  amphitheater  gallery  of 
black  indurated  lava,"  on  which  a  hundred  thousand  people  might 
stand.  The  lake  of  fire  was  one  thousand  feet  deep.  "The 
fiercely  whizzing  sound  of  gas  and  steam,  rushing  with  varying 
force  through  obstructed  apertures  in  blowing  cones,  or  cooling 
crusts  of  lava,  the  laboring,  wheezing  struggling,  as  of  a  living 
mountain,  breathing  fire  and  smoke  and  sulphurous  gas  from  his 
lurid  nostrils,  tossing  up  molten  rocks  or  detached  portions  of 
fluid  lava  ,and  breaking  up  vast  indurated  masses  with  varied 
detonations,  all  impressively  filled  us  with  awe. 

"The  great  extent  of  the  surface  of  the  lava  lake;  the  numer- 
ous places  on  it  where  the  fiery  element  was  displaying  itself,  the 
conical  mouths  here  and  there,  discharging  glowing  lava  over- 
flowing and  spreading  its  waves  around,  or  belched  out  in  de- 
tached and  molten  masses  that  were  shot  forth  with  detonations, 
perhaps  by  the  force  of  gases  struggling  through  from  below  the 
surface,  while  the  vast  column  of  vapor  and  smoke  ascended  up 
toward  heaven  ,and  the  coruscations  of  the  emitted  brilliant  lava 
illuminated  the  clouds  that  passed  over  the  terrific  gulf,  all  pre- 
sented by  night  a  splendid  and  sublime  panorama  of  volcanic  ac- 
tion, probably  nowhere  else  surpassed." 

He  descended  from  the  northeast  side  to  the  black  ledge,  and 
to  the  lava  lake,  which  "presented  cones,  mounds,  plains,  vast 
bridges  of  lava  recently  cooled,  pits  and  caverns,  and  portions  of 
considerable  extent  in  a  movable  and  agitated  state."  Near  the 
center  is  a  large  mound,  from  the  top  of  which  lava  poured  out  in 
every  direction  in  a  series  of  circular  waves.  The  outermost 
wave  solidifies,  when  another  one  follows,  perhaps  passing  over 
the  first;  then  others  follow  as  if  in  a  series  of  pulsations  from 
the  "earth's  open  artery"  at  the  top  of  the  mound. 


182 

The  capillary  glass  was  observed,  and  its  formation  understood. 
"It  is  formed,  I  presume,  by  the  tossing  off  of  small  detached 
portions  of  lava  of  the  consistence  of  molten  glass,  from  the 
mouths  of  cones,  when  a  fine  vitreous  thread  is  drawn  out  between 
the  moving  portion  and  that  from  which  it  is  detached.  The 
fine  spun  product  is  then  blown  about  by  the  wind,  both  within 
and  around  the  crater,  and  is  collected  in  little  locks  or  tufts."38 

In  July,  1831,  Mr.  Goodrich  visited  Kilauea  and  says  that  "the 
crater  had  been  filled  up  to  the  black  ledge,  and  about  fifty  feet 
above  it,  about  nine  hundred  feet  in  the  whole,"  since  his  first 
visit  in  1823. 

ERUPTION  OF  1832. 

The  accounts  of  the  eruption  of  1832  are  sufficiently  full  to 
enable  us  to  know  that  the  disturbances  in  Kilauea  near  the  lakes 
of  fire  correspond  to  those  manifested  at  other  eruptive  periods. 
According  to  the  statements  that  have  already  been  cited,  the 
lower  pit  had  been  filled  up  with  lava  to  the  amount  of  nine  hun- 
dred feet  since  the  discharge  of  1823.  Rev.  Joseph  Goodrich 
visited  the  locality  in  November  and  says  that  the  lava  "had  now 
again  sunk  down  to  nearly  the  same  depth  as  at  first,  leaving  as 
usual  a  boiling  caldron  at  the  south  end.  The  inside  of  the  crater 
had  entirely  changed.  *  *  *  In  January  preceding — about 
the  1 2th  as  nearly  as  I  can  ascertain — the  volcano  commenced  a 
vigorous  system  of  operations,  sending  out  volumes  of  smoke; 
and  the  fires  so  illumined  the  smoke  that  it  had  the  appearance 
of  a  city  enveloped  in  one  general  conflagration."89  A  day  or  two 
later  there  were  six  or  eight  smart  earthquakes,  repeated  for  two 
or  three  days.  These  may  have  been  concerned  more  particularly 
with  the  emissions  on  the  plain  between  the  two  craters  of  Kilauea 
and  Kilauea  iki. 

On  descending  into  the  caldera,  Mr.  Goodrich  speaks  of  the 
molten  lava  at  the  south  end — "an  opening  in  the  lava  sixty  to 
eighty  rods  long,  and  twenty  or  thirty  wide."  About  twenty  feet 
below  the  brink  this  liquid  mass  was  "boiling,  foaming  and  dash- 
ing in  billows  against  the  rocky  shore.  The  mass  was  in  motion, 
running  from  north  to  south  at  the  rate  of  two  or  three  miles  an 
hour;  boiling  up  as  a  spring  at  one  end,  and  running  to  the 
other."  He  speaks  of  this  mass  as  a  lake,  and  says  that  the 
liquid  lava  is  incrusted  by  its  own  cooling,  just  as  ice  is  formed 


38  A  residence  of  twenty-one  years  in  the  Sandwich  Islands,  by  Hiram 
Bingham,  A.M.,  Third  Edition,  1855. 

39  American  Journal  of  Science,  XXV,  p.  201. 


over  rivers  in  cold  climates.  As  the  ice  in  rivers  crashes  against 
the  shores,  so  this  crust  is  forced  against  the  bank  and  distorted. 
The  lava  crusts  melt  and  reform  while  "gaseous  matter  is  forced 
through,  scattering  the  liquid  fire  in  every  direction."  There 
were  also  two  islands  in  this  lake. 

This,  however,  must  have  been  after  the  discharge  of  the  liquid 
from  the  bottom  of  the  pit.  There  is  absolutely  no  testimony 
from  any  source,  of  this  eruption,  save  the  statement  that  it  ran 
away  about  January  i2th.  Whether  it  appeared  at  the  surface, 
filled  up  some  subterranean  cavity  or  flowed  under  the  sea  is  en- 
tirely unknown.  Before  its  disappearance  the  lava  rose  about 
fifty  feet  above  the  black  ledge  of  1823,  thus  building  up  a  plat- 
form believed  to  be  nine  hundred  feet  above  the  molten  lake. 

From  Mr.  Goodrich's  statements  the  depth  of  the  bottom  must 
have  been  1,750  feet  from  the  top  of  the  wall.  This  is  confirmed 
by  an  entry  in  the  private  diary  of  Rev.  W.  P.  Alexander  who 
visited  the  volcano  January  12,  1833,  two  months  later  than  Mr. 
Goodrich,  who  says  the  crater  was  two  thousand  feet  deep.  He 
does  not  speak  of  any  black  ledge ;  whence  it  is  inferred  that  this 
terrace  must  have  been  very  narrow,  as  in  1823.  Mr.  Alexander 
was  disappointed  in  not  finding  the  principal  furnace  in  lively 
action  while  he  was  at  the  bottom  of  the  pit ;  but  by  the  time  he 
had  returned  to  the  summit  a  furious  action  had  commenced  and 
molten  lava  spouted  far  into  the  air  with  a  roaring  sound.  The 
following  day  the  boiling  caldron  was  found  to  be  3,000  feet  long, 
1,000  wide,  and  spouting  in  jets  forty  or  fifty  feet  high. 

The  manifestations  of  igneous  activity  in  another  part  of  the 
area,  at  this  time,  January,  1832,  as  reported  by  Mr.  Goodrich 
and  confirmed  by  later  observations  of  the  effects  produced,  were 
unlike  any  others  that  have  been  seen  at  Kilauea.  "The  earth- 
quakes rent  in  twain  the  walls  of  the  crater  on  the  east  side  from 
the  top  to  the  bottom,  producing  seams  from:  a  few  inches  to 
several  yards  in  width,  from  which  the  region  around  was  de- 
luged with  lava.  *  *  *  The  chasms"  (were  developed) 
"within  a  few  yards  of  where  Mr.  Stewart,  Lord  Byron,  myself 
and  others  had  slept,"  the  spot  being  the  "Hut"  on  Maiden's  map, 
"so  that  the  spot  where  I  have  lain  quietly  many  times  is  entirely 
overrun  with  lava."  Back  of  it,  at  right  angles  with  the  main 
chasm,  and  about  half  way  up  the  precipice,  there  was  a  vent  a 
quarter  of  a  mile  in  length  from  which  the  lava  issued  which  had 
destroyed  the  Hut.  This  fissure  thus  was  parallel  with  the  edge 
of  Kilauea. 

Upon  Mr.  Dodge's  map  the  lava  is  represented  as  starting  from 
an  orifice  below  the  edge  of  Poli  o  Keawe,  spreading  out  like  a 


i84 

fan  so  as  to  include  the  Hut,  and  then  turning  westerly  so  as  to 
pour  into  Kilauea;  and  there  was  so  much  of  it  that  it  makes  a 
tongue-like  projection  into  the  contour  of  the  lower  plain  just  at 
the  northern  end  of  the  sulphur  banks.  Professor  Dana  was 
greatly  impressed  by  the  appearance  of  these  cooled  and  hollow 
streams,  as  he  saw  them  in  1840.  "The  angle  of  descent  of  these 
streams  was  about  thirty-five  degrees;  and  yet  the  streams  were 
continuous.  The  ejection  had  been  made  to  a  height  of  four 
hundred  feet  at  a  time  when  the  pit  below  was  under  bdiling 
lavas  and  ready  for  discharge.  Elsewhere  about  the  upper  walls, 
and  also  about  those  of  the  lower  pit,  no  scoria  was  seen.  The 
surfaces  of  walls  are  those  of  fractures,  brought  into  sight  by  sub- 
sidences; and  the  rocks  of  the  layers  were  as  solid  as  the  most 
solid  of  lavas.  Moreover,  no  scoria  intervened  between  the  beds 
of  lava  even  in  the  walls  of  the  lower  pit,  each  new  stream  hav- 
ing apparently  melted  the  scoria-crust  of  the  layer  it  flowed  over ; 
and  no  beds  of  cinders  or  volcanic  ashes  were  anywhere  to  be  seen 
in  alternation  with  the  beds  of  lava.  While  the  cooled  lava  streams 
over  the  bottom  were  of  the  smooth-surfaced  kind,  and  would  be 
called  pahoehoe,  there  was  the  important  distinction  into  streams 
having  the  scoria-crust  just  mentioned,  and  those  having  the  ex- 
terior solid  with  no  separate  crust — facts  that  pointed  to  some 
marked  difference  in  conditions  of  origin." 

The  floor  of  Kilauea  iki  is  covered  by  as  many  as  fifty  hum- 
mocks fifteen  or  twenty  feet  high.  They  arrested  the  atten- 
tion of  Professor  W.  H.  Pickering  in  1905,  who  conceives  them 
to  illustrate  the  process  of  construction  of  Kilauea  itself  as  well 
as  elevations  on  the  surface  of  the  moon.  He  says,  "The  surface 
of  the  crater  floor  of  Kilauea  iki  seems  to  have  solidified  into  a 
layer  six  to  ten  inches  in  depth  and  distinct  from  the  portions  be- 
low it.  *  *  *  A  liquid  core  forced  up  from  below  raised  this 
surface  layer  locally,  and  shattered1  it  into  separate  pieces  like 
cakes  of  ice.  This  core  in  the  case  of  the  smaller  craterlets  was 
sometimes  only  two  or  three  feet  in  diameter,  and  could  be  seen 
beneath  the  shattered  surface.  In  one  instance  its  summit  seemed 
to  have  an  almost  globular  form,  five  feet  in  diameter.  If  the 
volcanic  forces  beneath  these  craterlets  had  been  more  intense, 
it  is  probable  that  the  issuing  lava  would  have  completely  de- 
stroyed them,  forming  a  series  of  crater  pits  into  which  the  lava 
would  have  subsequently  retreated.  In  the  southwest  part  of  the 
floor  two  such  pits  were  found,  perhaps  fifteen  feet  in  depth  by 
thirty  in  diameter,  down  into  which  a  stream  of  lava  had  poured, 
but  had  solidified  without  filling  them  up."40 

40  Lunar  and  Hawaiian  Physical  Features  Compared,  p.  166. 


Kilauea  iki,  according  to  Mr.  Dodge's  map,  is  3,300  feet  from 
to  west  and  2,800  feet  from  north  to  south,  and  is  seven  hun- 
dred and  forty  feet  deep,  or  eight  hundred  and  sixty-seven  feet 
below  the  Volcano  House,  from  which  it  is  about  a  mile  distant. 
It  is  best  reached  by  descending  the  north  wall,  making  use  of 
ropes  in  the  steepest  part  of  the  slope.  It  is  now  (1909)  en- 
circled by  a  carriage  road  from  the  Volcano  House. 

This  was  the  original  name  given  to  it  by  the  natives,  iki,  mean- 
ing little,  and  was  used  by  Mr.  Ellis  in  his  Journal,  and  by  most 
travelers.  Professor  Brigham  called  it  Poli  o  Keawe,  and  ap- 
plied the  Kilauea  iki  to  Keanakakoi ;  and  was  followed  by  Cap- 
tain Button.  On  questioning  reliable  natives  in  1883  about  the 
nomenclature,  I  found  that  Mr.  Ellis  was  right  in  his  early  ap- 
plication of  these  names,  and  that  the  expression  Poli  o  Keawe, 
signifying  the  bosom  of  Keawe,  should  be  applied  to  the  bluff 
overlooking  Kilauea  between  the  two  side  pits.  Keanakakoi  was 
derived  from  ana,  a  cave,  and  koi  an  axe  or  adze :  meaning  a  chip- 
ping axe  cave,  because  stone  implements  had  been  manufactured 
here  in  primitive  times.  The  same  name  is  applied  to  the  famous 
locality  for  the  manufacture  of  implements  situated  near  the 
summit  of  Mauna  Kea. 

On  further  investiagtion  I  have  discovered  that  Professor 
Brigham  has  improperly  represented  that  Mr.  Goodrich  endorsed 
two  names  relating  to  Kilauea.41  The  first  is  Halemaumau  and 
the  second  is  Poli  o  Keawe.  He  has  made  an  abstract  of  Mr. 
Goodrich's  statement,  as  partially  quoted  above,  into  two  sentences 
amounting  to  seventy-eight  words,  including  the  two  geographical 
names,  and  has  included  the  whole  in  quotation  marks.  Neither 
of  the  expressions  Halemaumau  or  Poli  o  Keawe  were  used  by 
Mr.  Goodrich,  although  he  describes  both  the  localities.  Pro- 
fessor Brigham  probably  did  not  intend  to  intimate  that  Mr. 
Goodrich  used  the  words  indicated. 

It  is  worthy  of  note  that  for  a  short  time  eruptions  may  have 
taken  place  simultaneously  from  Kilauea  and  Mokuaweoweo  in 
1832.  The  first  one  commenced  action  January  I2th  and  the 
second  June  2oth.  We  have,  however,  no  definite  statement  from 
any  one  that  the  discharge  from  Kilauea  continued  as  late  as  to 
the  opening  of  the  fire  streams  upon  Mauna  Loa,  though  it  is  not 
improbable. 


41  See  Notes  on  Volcanoes  of  the  Hawaiian  Islands  by  William  T. 
Brigham,  p.  (69),  409;  from  Memoirs  of  the  Boston  Society  of  Natural 
History,  Vol.  I,  Part  III. 


i86 

BETWEEN  1832  AND  1840. 

The  next  visit  to  Kilauea  recorded  was  by  Mr.  David  Douglass 
in  1834.  He  found  two  molten  lakes — the  more  northern  three 
hundred  and  nineteen  yards  in  diameter;  the  more  southern, 
1,190x700  yards  in  extent,  and  heart-shaped.  The  larger  one  oc- 
casionaly  boiled  with  terrific  grandeur,  throwing  up  jets  estimated 
to  be  from  twenty  to  seventy  feet  high.  Nearby  stood  a  chimney 
forty  feet  high,  "which  occasionally  discharged  its  steam  as  if  all 
the  steam-engines  in  the  world  were  concentrated  in  it."  Pro- 
fessor Dana  says  this  is  a  good  description  of  a  blowing  cone, 
though  this  name  had  not  been  used  so  early.  Mr.  Douglass 
measured  the  velocity  of  the  movement  in  the  lava  by  timing  the 
rapidity  of  blocks  of  stone  thrown  upon  the  surface  of  the  stream, 
just  as  one  may  estimate  the  velocity  of  water  by  the  chips  upon 
the  top.  This  proved  to  be  nearly  three  and  a  quarter  miles  per 
hour.  Mr.  Douglass  used  the  barometer  to  determine  the  depths 
of  the  black  ledge  and  pit.  As  the  mean  of  two  calculations  he 
found  the  depth  from;  Uwekahuna  to  the  former  to  be  seven  hun- 
dred and  fifteen  feet,  and  to  the  bottom  of  the  pit  1,077  feet,  or 
three  hundred  and  sixty-two  feet  below  the  black  ledge.  In 
addition  to  this  he  said  it  was  forty-three  feet  more  to  the  liquid 
lavas.  This  proves  that  there  had  been  a  renewal  of  the  lava 
from  the  pit  in  1832,  and  his  other  observations  represent  that  the 
lower  portion  was  larger  and  deeper  than  after  the  eruption  of 
1840.  Douglass  has  been  discredited  because  he  seemed  to  have 
exaggerated  the  size  and  activity  of  Mokuaweoweo  in  a  letter 
written  to  Dr.  Hooker,  dated  three  days  later  than  the  very  rea- 
sonable account  of  the  phenomena  mentioned  above.  It  has  been 
suggested  that  he  wrote  the  latter  under  the  influence  of  tempor- 
ary hallucination. 

Charles  Burnham  says  the  crater  was  eight  hundred  feet  deep 
over  the  whole  surface  in  1835  with  no  cones  over  seventy-five 
feet  high.  A  very  large  lake  visible  from  the  hut.  From  the 
record  book  June  17,  1881. 

In  August,  1837,  Mr.  S.  N.  Castle  of  Honolulu  visited  Kilauea, 
and  reported  that  the  lower  pit  below  the  black  ledge  was  nearly 
filled  up,  and  he  also  found  active  cones  in  all  parts  of  the  caldera. 

In  May,  1838,  Captains  Chase  and  Parker  visited  the  volcano 
and  some  account  of  their  trip  was  compiled  by  E.  C.  Kelley  for 
the  American  Journal  of  Science.  The  lavas  had  nearly  filled  up 
the  lower  pit.  Over  its  floor,  about  four  square  miles  in  extent, 
there  were  twenty-six  cones,  eight  of  which  were  throwing  out 
cinders  and  molten  lava.  Six  small  lakes  were  in  evidence.  The 


i87 

largest  one  was  probably  identical  with  the  later  Halemaumau, 
upon  whose  surface  an  island  of  solid  lava  "heaved  up  and  down 
in  the  liquid  mass,  and  rocked  like  a  ship  on  a  stormy  sea."  They 
also  noted  the  oscillations  in  the  heat,  so  obvious  to  later  visitors. 
The  lake  which  had  been  boiling  violently  became  covered  by  a 
mass  of  black  scoriae;  but  this  obscuration  was  temporary,  for 
very  soon  this  crust  commenced  cracking,  black  plates  floated 
upon  the  surface  like  cakes  of  ice  upon  water,  and  probably  dis- 
appeared. At  the  last  moment  of  observation  about  a  quarter  of 
the  floor  gave  way  and  became  a  vast  pool  of  liquid  lava. 

An  elaborate  drawing  of  the  volcano  as  it  seemed  at  that  time 
accompanies  the  sketch,  prepared  by  a  New  York  artist,  who  evi- 
dently incorporated  into  it  the  features  of  Vesuvius.  It  was  taken 
from  the  south  end,  shows  the  great  south  lake  and  the  floating 
island,  and  is  of  value  because  it  indicates  the  nearly  complete 
obliteration  of  the  black  ledge. 

In  August  or  September  of  the  same  year  Count  Strzelecki 
measured  the  height  of  the  north-northeast  wall  with  a  barometer, 
finding  it  to  be  six  hundred  feet.  Nothing  is  said  about  the  black 
ledge,  whence  it  may  be  inferred  that  it  was  not  visible.  Six 
craters  filled  with  molten  lava  are  mentioned,  four  of  them  three 
or  four  feet  high,  one  forty  feet  and  the  other  one  hundred  and 
fifty.  Five  of  these  had  areas  of  twelve  thousand  feet  each ;  and 
the  sixth  contained  nearly  a  million  and  had  the  name  of  Hau- 
maumau,  and  was  encircled  by  a  wall  of  scoriae  fifty  yards  high. 
He  said  that  the  lava  rose  and  sunk  in  all  the  lakes  simultaneously 
— an  observation  that  has  never  been  confirmed  in  the  later  his- 
tory. The  language  descriptive  of  the  craters  filled  with  lava 
might  be  interpreted  to  correspond  with  the  occasional  manifesta- 
tion of  a  lake  supported  upon  a  rim  consisting  of  the  cooled  liquid, 
as  shown  particularly  in  1894.  Like  Mr.  Douglass  Count 
Strzelecki  has  given  in  the  Hawaiian  Spectator  a  more  ex- 
travagant account  of  Kilauea,  besides  the  reasonable  one  abridged 
above  from  a  book  upon  New  South  Wales  and  Van  Diemen's 
Land  published  seven  years  later.  He  was  the  first  author  to  use 
the  name  Hau-mau-mau  (Halemaumau). 

The  latest  visit  to  the  volcano  previous  to  the  great  eruption 
in  1840  was  made  by  Captain  John  Shepherd,  R.  N.,  September 
1 6,  1839.  He  mentions  several  cones  and  small  lakes  on  the  floor 
of  the  pit  on  the  way  to  the  great  lake.  The  black  ledge  was 
"obliterated" :  there  were  cones  twenty  to  thirty  feet  high  emitting 
lava  and  vapors  with  loud  detonations ;  and  the  Great  Lake,  sup- 
posed to  be  Halemaumau,  though  incorrectly  stated  to  be  on  the 
east  side,  was  a  mile  and  a  half  long,  within  a  cone  a  hundred 


i88 

feet  high.     There  was  an  apparent  flow  of  the  liquid  from  south 
to  north  and  spray  thrown  up  from  thirty  to  forty  feet. 

THE  ERUPTION  OF  1840. 

This  was  the  most  important  of  all  the  discharges  from  Kilauea 
since  the  country  has  been  known  to  us.  Our  sources  of  informa- 
tion are  the  statements  of  Rev.  Titus  Coan,  Captain  Charles 
Wilkes  and  Professor  J.  D.  Dana.  None  of  these  gentlemen  were 
on  the  spot  at  the  time,  but  obtained  their  information  from  good 
authorities  while  the  phenomena  were  fresh  in  mind. 

Rev.  Mr.  Coan  happened  to  be  absent  in  Oahu  at  the  time  of 
the  eruption.  He  had  visited  the  volcano  before  and  was 
familiar  with  its  features;  so  that  he  was  qualified  to  test  the 
statements  of  the  natives.  The  great  basin  below  the  black  ledge 
had  been  filled  to  overflowing,  and  as  much  as  fifty  feet  thickness 
had  accumulated  above  the  platform..  The  whole  area  of  the  pit 
is  represented  as  an  entire  sea  of  ignifluous  matter,  with  waves 
dashing  against  the  walls  sufficiently  energetically  as  to  detach 
great  masses  of  the  overhanging  rocks.  No  one  dared  to  ap- 
proach near  the  fiery  mass.  Mr.  Coan  believed  the  statements 
correct,  because  not  a  single  part  of  the  lava  seen  after  the  erup- 
tion was  like  what  had  been  visible  before:  all  had  been  melted 
down  and  recast. 

It  was  May  3Oth  when  the  inhabitants  of  Puna  first  observed 
indications  of  fire.  On  the  following  day  the  fire  greatly  aug- 
mented. On  the  third  day,  June  ist,  the  lava  began  to  flow  off  in 
a  northeasterly  direction.  By  the  evening  of  June  3d  the  burning 
river  had  reached  the  sea  and  discharged  over  a  cliff  near  Nana- 
wale  for  three  weeks.  There  were  slight  and  repeated  shocks  of 
earthquakes  near  the  volcano,  for  several  successive  days;  but 
none  were  noticed  at  Hilo. 

The  first  appearance  of  the  lava  was  at  a  small  pit  about  six 
miles  distant  from;  Kilauea,  in  the  forest.  The  lava  rose  in  this 
opening  about  three  hundred  feet,  and  then  sank  down  when  there 
was  a  discharge  below.  Remnants  of  this  material  were  ob- 
served by  Mr.  Coan.  Then  there  were  other  small  ejections  in 
fissures  nearby.  Others  appeared,  some  two  or  three  miles 
away,  and  finally  upon  June  ist  began  the  principal  outflow, 
twenty-seven  miles  from  Kilauea,  eleven  from  the  sea,  and  1,244 
feet  above  tide  water. 

A  further  account  of  the  eruption  is  given  in  the  words  of  Mr. 
Coan: 

The  source  of  the  eruption  is  in  a  forest^  and  was  not  dis- 
covered at  first  ,though  several  foreigners  have  attempted  it. 


189 

"From  Kilauea  to  this  place  the  lava  flows  in  a  subterranean  gal- 
lery probably  at  the  depth  of  a  thousand  feet,  but  its  course  can 
be  distinctly  traced  all  the  way,  by  the  rending  of  the  crust  of 
the  earth  into  innumerable  fissures  and  by  the  emission  of  smoke, 
steam  and  gases.  The  eruption  in  this  old  crater  is  small,  and 
from  this  place  the  stream  disappears  again  for  the  distance  of  a 
mile  or  two  when  the  lava  again  gushes  up  and  spreads  over  an 
area  of  about  fifty  acres.  Again  it  passes  underground  for  two 
or  three  miles,  when  it  reappears  in  another  old  wooded  crater, 
consuming  the  forest  and  partly  filling  up  the  basin.  Once  more 
it  disappears,  and  flowing  in  a  subterranean  channel,  cracks  and 
breaks  the  earth,  opening  fissures  from  six  inches  to  ten  or  twelve 
feet  in  width,  and  sometimes  splitting  the  trunk  of  a  tree  so  ex- 
actly that  its  legs  stand  astride  at  the  fissure.  At  some  places  it 
is  impossible  to  trace  the  subterranean  stream  on  account  of  the 
impenetrable  thicket  under  which  it  passes.  After  flowing  under- 
ground several  miles,  perhaps  six  or  eight,  it  again  broke  out  like 
an  overwhelming  flood,  and  sweeping  forest,  hamlet,  plantation 
and  everything  before  it,  rolled  down  with  resistless  energy  to  the 
sea,  where  leaping  a  precipice  of  forty  or  fifty  feet,  it  poured  itself 
in  one  vast  cataract  of  fire  into  the  deep  below,  with  loud  detona- 
tions, fearful  hissings,  and  a  thousand  unearthly  and  indescrib- 
able sounds.  Imagine  to  yourself  a  river  of  fused  minerals,  of 
the  breadth  and  depth  of  Niagara,  and  of  a  deep  gory  red,  falling 
in  one  emblazoned  sheet,  one-  raging  torrent  into  the  ocean. 
*  *  *  The  atmosphere  in  all  directions  was  filled  with  ashes, 
spray,  gases,  etc.,  while  the  burning  lava  as  it  fell  into  the  water 
was  shivered  into  millions  of  minute  particles,  and  being  thrown 
back  into  the  air  fell  in  showers  of  sand  on  all  the  surrounding 
country.  The  coast  was  extended  into  the  sea  for  a  quarter  of  a 
mile,  and  a  pretty  sand  beach  and  a  new  cape  were  formed. 
Three  hills  of  scoria  and  sand  were  also  formed  in  the  sea,  the 
lowest  about  two  hundred  and  the  highest  about  three  hundred 
feet. 

"For  three  weeks  this  terrific  river  disgorged  itself  into  the 
sea  with  little  abatement.  Multitudes  of  fishes  were  killed,  and 
the  waters  of  the  ocean  were  heated  for  twenty  miles  along  the 
.coast/  The  breadth  of  the  stream  where  it  fell  into  the  sea,  is 
about  half  a  mile,  but  inland  it  varies  from  one  to  four  or  five 
miles  in  width,  conforming,  like  a  river,  to  the  fall  of  the  country 
over  which  it  flowed.  The  depth  of  the  stream  will  probably 
vary  from  ten  to  two  hundred  feet,  according  to  the  inequalities 
of  the  surface  over  which  it  passed.  During  the  flow  night  was 
converted  into  day  on  all  eastern  Hawaii;  the  light  was  visible 


190 

for  more  than  one  hundred  miles  at  sea;  and  at  the  distance  of 
forty  miles  fine  print  could  be  read  at  midnight. 

"The  whole  course  of  the  stream  from  Kilauea  to  the  sea  is 
about  forty  miles.  The  ground  over  which  it  flowed  descends  at 
the  rate  of  one  hundred  feet  to  the  mile.  The  crust  is  now  cooled, 
and  may  be  traversed  with  care,  though  scalding  steam,  pungent 
gases  and  smoke  are  still  emitted  in  many  places.  In  pursuing 
my  way  for  nearly  two  days  over  this  mighty  smouldering  mass, 
I  was  more  and  more  impressed  at  every  step  with  the  wonderful 
scene.  Hills  had  been  melted  down  like  wax ;  ravines  and  deep 
valleys  had  been  filled;  and  majestic  forests  had  disappeared  like 
a  feather  in  the  flame.  On  the  outer  edge  of  the  lava,  where  the 
stream  was  more  shallow  and  the  heat  less  vehement,  and  where 
of  course  the  liquid  mass  cooled  soonest,  the  trees  were  mowed 
down  like  grass  before  the  scythe,  and  left  charred,  crisp, 
smouldering  .and  only  half  consumed."  There  are  numerous  ver- 
tical holes  in  the  lava,  almost  as  smooth  as  the  calibre  of  a  can- 
non, which  represent  the  trunks  of  trees ;  they  were  too  green  to 
burn  when  the  lava  flowed  around  them  but  succumbed  later  to 
subaerial  decay. 

"During  the  progress  of  the  descending  stream,  it  would  often 
fall  into  some  fissure,  and  forcing  itself  into  apertures,  and  under 
massive  rocks  and  even  hillocks  and  extended  plots  of  ground, 
and  lifting  them  from  their  ancient  beds,  bear  them  with  all  their 
superincumbent  mass  of  soil,  trees,  etc.,  on  its  viscous  and  livid 
bosom,  like  a  raft  on  the  water.  When  the  fused  mass  was  slug- 
gish, it  had  a  gory  appearance  like  clotted  blood,  and  when  it  was 
active  it  resembled  fresh  and  clotted  blood  mingled  and  thrown 
into  violent  agitation.  Sometimes  the  flowing  lava  would  find  a 
subterranean  gallery  diverging  at  right  angles  from  the  main 
channel,  and  pressing  into  it  would  flow  off  unobserved,  till  meet- 
ing with  some  obstruction  in  its  dark  passage,  when,  by  its  ex- 
pansive force,  it  would  raise  the  crust  of  the  earth  into  a  dome- 
like hill  of  fifteen  or  twenty  feet  in  height,  and  then  bursting  this 
shell,  pour  itself  out  in  a  fiery  torrent  around.  A  man  who  was 
standing  at  a  consideable  distance  from  the  main  stream,  and 
intensely  gazing  on  the  absorbing  scene  before  him,  found  himself 
suddenly  raised  to  the  height  of  ten  or  fifteen  feet  above  the  com- 
mon level  around  him,  and  he  had  but  just  time  to  escape  from 
his  dangerous  position,  when  the  earth  opened  where  he  had  stood, 
and  a  stream  of  fire  gushed  out."42 


Missionary  Herald,  Vol.  XXXVII,  p.  283. 


^      OF   THE 

UNIVERSITY 


OF 


THE  VISIT  OF  CAPTAIN  WIUEES. 

Captain  Wilkes  of  the  United  States  Exploring  Expedition 
made  a  prolonged  stay  at  the  two  volcanoes  in  1840-1,  of  which  a 
full  account  is  presented  in  the  "Narrative,"  pp.  111-231.  The 
part  relating  to  Mauna  Loa  is  given  elsewhere.  With  this  greater 
mountain  in  sight,  Wilkes  was  quite  disappointed  when  called  to 
look  at  the  uncouth  black  pits  beneath  his  feet  known  as  Kilauea. 
It  was  nothing  but  a  depression,  insignificant  in  comparison  with 
the  great  plains  and  mountain,  and  exhibited  scanty  signs  of  fire. 
There  was,  however,  a  small  cherry-red  spot  in  the  distance,  above 
which  was  a  cloud  of  silvery  brightness.  The  depression  itself, 
when  properly  examined,  proved  to  be  of  grand  proportions,  three 
and  a  half  miles  long  ,two  and  a  half  wide  and  nearly  a  thousand 
feet  deep ;  and  he  says  the  city  of  New  York  might  easily  be 
placed  within  it  and  have  room  to  spare.  At  night  the  immense 
pool  of  cherry-red  lava  in  a  state  of  violent  ebullition  illuminates 
the  whole  expanse,  flowing  in  all  directions.  With  him  were  over 
two  hundred  native  Hawaiians  crowded  upon  the  brink,  gazing 
upon  the  scene  in  terror,  fearing  the  vengeance  of  Pele  for  tres- 
passing upon  her  domain. 

The  descent  into  the  pit  was  by  the  route  used  at  the  present 
day,  starting  at  the  Volcano  House.  First  was  the  descent  of  six 
hundred  and  fifty  feet  to  the  platform  known  as  the  black  ledge. 
Continuing  upon  this  shelf  for  a  mile,  he  stood  directly  over  the 
lake  of  fire,  three  hundred  and  fifty  feet  below,  1,500  feet  long  and 
1,000  feet  wide.  There  was  very  little  noise,  and  that  was  a  low 
murmuring  such  as  is  heard  in  the  boiling  of  a  thick  liquid.  Oc- 
casionally masses  of  red-hot  matter  were  ejected  to  the  height  of 
about  seventy  feet ;  then  falling  back.  The  lake  was  apparently 
rising,  needing  only  a  few  feet  of  overflowing  its  banks. 

The  sketch  made  with  the  camera  lucida  by  Mr.  Drayton  is  re- 
produced, Plate  28,  and  is  one  of  the  best  ever  made  of  the  vol- 
cano. It  was  taken  from  the  north  end.  The  lake  of  fire,  which 
we  know  as  Halemaumau,  is  in  the  distance.  The  vapors  nearer 
arise  from  cracks  in  the  lava,  and  consist  of  steam  and  sulphur- 
ous gases.  The  platform  which  seems  perfectly  level  is  the  black 
ledge,  which  before  the  late  eruption  is  supposed  to  have  extended 
entirely  across  the  lower  pit.  The  shelf  is  from  six  hundred  to 
2,000  feet  in  width,  seamed  by  crevices.  It  is  not  so  smooth  as 
it  would  appear,  as  it  is  covered  by  large  pieces  of  lava,  and  in 
places  rises  into  cones  thirty  or  forty  feet  high.  Here  and  there 
are  huge  tortuous  masses  stretched  lengthwise  like  hideous  fiery 
serpents  with  black  vitreous  scales. 


192 

The  lower  platform  is  like  the  upper  in  most  respects.  It  may 
be  covered  by  a  scoriaceous  vitreous  layer,  which  crumbles  and 
cracks  under  the  feet.  Small  patches  break  like  glass.  The  un- 
derlying basalt  is  firm  and  solid.  A  third  variety  is  a  black 
pumice.  There  are  beneath,  also,  dark  pits  and  vaulted  caverns 
emitting  blasts  of  heated  air  at  the  temperature  of  180°.  The 
floor  is  three  hundred  and  eighty-four  feet  below  the  upper  plat- 
form. 

The  lake  because  of  its  intense  heat  could  not  be  approached 
nearer  than  1,800-2,000  feet.  It  was  discharging  liquid  matter 
at  short  intervals  directly  across  the  most  convenient  route  of 
travel.  The  capillary  glass,  known  as  Pele's  hair,  abounded  in 
the  crevices  in  loose  tufts  like  tow;  and  on  the  adjacent  plain  it 
adhered  to  bushes.  These  fibres  may  be  straight  with  small  drops 
of  glass  at  one  end,  or  crimped  and  frizzled,  or  may  be  spread  over 
the  ground  like  cobwebs. 

On  the  return  measurements  were  made  and  confirmed  of  all 
parts  of  the  volcano,  so  that  the  data  were  obtained  for  a  map 
and  other  illustrations.  Dr.  G.  P.  Judd,  who  had  assisted  very 
materially  in  managing  the  natives  on  the  journey  between  Hilo 
and  the  summit  of  Mauna  Loa,  made  the  attempt  to  secure  sam- 
ples of  the  liquid  lava.  In  pursuance  of  this  quest  he  was  gather- 
ing specimens  of  the  capillary  glass  on  the  steep  wall  of  the  smaller 
lake,  having  been  let  down  by  hand  through  the  assistance  of  na- 
tives. A  slight  movement  in  the  lava  arrested  his  attention.  In 
a  moment  the  crust  was  broken  by  a  terrific  heave  and  a  jet  of 
molten  lava  fifteen  feet  in  diameter  rose  to  the  height  of  about 
forty-five  feet  with  an  appalling  noise.  In  turning  to  escape  he 
found  himself  under  a  projecting  ledge  and  would  have  been  over- 
whelmed except  for  the  friendly  assistance  of  Kalumo,  a  native 
Hawaiian.  Both  were  badly  scorched  by  the  heat.  Wilkes  called 
this  pit  Judd's  Lake,  found  to  be  thirty-eight  feet  deep  and  two 
hundred  feet  in  diameter.  It  was  filled  up  in  twelve  minutes. 

As  an  illustration  of  the  variation  of  the  conditions,  upon  the 
night  following  the  narrow  escape  of  Dr.  Judd,  the  larger  lake 
sank  down  one  hundred  feet,  thus  discharging  a  mass  of  melted 
rocks  measuring  fifteen  million  cubic  feet.  The  lava  ascends  from 
unknown  depths,  pours  over  the  borders  of  the  lake,  and  then 
there  may  be  a  sudden  falling  away  of  the  liquid  because  it  has 
found  a  way  of  escape  into  some  cavern  or  to  the  exterior  of  the 
mountain  low  down.  These  small  escapades  are  the  same  in  prin- 
ciple with  the  larger  infrequent  so-called  eruptions. 

Plate  29  represents  an  attempt  to  delineate  the  interior  of  the 
volcano  at  the  time  of  Wilkes'  visit.  The  data  employed  are  the 


PLATE  29. 


THE  CRATER  OT 

KILAUEA 

HAWAII 

IN  I8«. 


Map  of  Kilauea,    1841 


193 

original  maps  of  the  Exploring  Expedition  and  the  later  Govern- 
ment Surveys.  Professor  Dana  has  presented  the  details  of  the 
corrections  needed  by  the  Wilkes  map  which  are  all  incorporated 
into  this  plate.  It  is  assumed  that  there  has  not  been  a  sufficient 
change  in  the  position  of  the  outer  walls  of  the  pit  to  show  in  a 
map  of  this  scale.  The  black  ledge  and  the  pit  are  constantly 
changing.  The  special  features  of  this  map  are  the  less  depth  of 
the  walls  back  of  the  black  ledge  as  compared  with  the  early  con- 
ditions reported  by  Ellis  and  Maiden,  but  a  greater  depth  than 
has  been  visible  since ;  and  the  greater  extent  of  the  sulphur  bank 
next  to  Keanakakoi.  Wilkes'  party  encamped  on  the  higher 
ground  north  of  the  volcano.  The  means  are  not  in  hand  for 
a  completely  satisfactory  representation  of  this  "great  lake"  to 
which  the  name  of  Halemaumau  belongs.  This  end  of  the  lower 
pit  is  higher  than  the  other. 

J.  D.  DANA'S  VISIT. 

Mr.  Dana  was  one  of  the  scientific  corps  of  the  Exploring  Ex- 
pedition. It  seems  very  strange  that  the  geologist  of  the  expedi- 
tion was  not  directed  to  explore  the  volcanoes.  The  commander 
evidently  wished  to  save  that  bit  of  work  for  himself ;  and  it  must 
have  been  a  source  of  satisfaction  to  Dana  that  he  was  able  to 
correct  the  errors  of  Wilkes'  map,  even  though  it  necessitated  a 
visit  to  Kilauea  in  1887,  forty-six  years  later.  The  official  report 
upon  the  Geology  of  the  Expedition  was  published  in  1849. 

Dana  first  saw  the  volcano  in  November,  1840,  two  months 
before  Wilkes  went  there,  and  six  months  after  the  eruption.  He 
spent  five  days  in  traveling  from  Kealakekua  to  Hilo,  two  nights 
and  a  day  at  Kilauea.  The  great  lake,  1,500  feet  long  and  1,000 
wide,  was  then  in  full  ebullition  over  its  surface,  and  there  were 
two  smaller  lakes.  Everything  was  quiet.  "Instead  of  a  sea  of 
molten  lava  'rolling  to  and  fro  its  fiery  surge  and  flaming  bil- 
lows/ the  only  signs  of  action  were  in  three  spots  of  a  blood-red 
color  which  were  in  feeble  but  constant  agitation,  like  that  of  a 
caldron  in  ebullition.  Fiery  jets  were  playing  over  the  surface 
of  the  three  lakes ;  but  it  was  merely  quiet  boiling,  for  not  a  whis- 
per was  heard  from  the  depths.  And  in  harmony  with  the  still- 
ness of  the  scene,  white  vapors  rose  in  fleecy  wreaths  from  the 
pools  into  a  broad  canopy  of  clouds  not  unlike  the  snowy  heaps 
that  lie  near  the  horizon  on  a  clear  day,  though  changing  rapidly 
in  shape  through  constant  accessions  of  cloud  material  from  be- 
low. When  on  the  verge  of  the  lower  pit,  a  half-smothered, 
gurgling  sound  was  all  that  could  be  heard.  Occasionally  a  re- 


194 

port  like  musketry  came  from  the  depths ;  then  all  was  still  again, 
except  the  stifled  mutterings  of  the  boiling  lakes." 

In  the  night  the  surface  sparkled  all  over  with  shifting  points 
of  dazzling  light  like  a  "net  work  of  lightning."  The  smaller 
pools  on  the  southeast  side  tossed  up  jets  much  like  the  larger, 
even  to  the  height  of  forty  or  fifty  feet.  Streams  of  lava,  a  day 
later,  boiled  over  from  the  lake.  Upon  the  black  ledge  there 
were  streams  of  hardened  lava,  some  twisted  into  ropy  lines  or 
reaching  out  in  rounded  knobs,  which  testified  to  the  presence  of 
lava-floods  much  earlier  than  the  recent  eruption.  Among  the 
chasms  he  heard  a  few  long-continued  rumbling  sounds,  show- 
ing that  a  down  plunging  of  the  walls  was  still  in  progress. 

The  shining,  glassy  scoriaceous  crust  crushed  under  foot  is  the 
scum  or  frothy  part  of  the  boiling  lakes.  The  Pele's  hair  was 
spun  from  the  jets  of  liquid  lava  thrown  up  by  the  boiling  process. 
The  winds  carried  away  the  capillary  threads,  the  heavy  or  loaded 
end  going  down  first.  The  first  view  entertained  was  that  the 
wind  drew  out  the  glassy  hairs ;  but  it  was  shown  later  by  Button 
that  the  threads  are  drawn  out  earlier.  The  projected  lava  is 
divided  into  a  succession  of  clots,  the  hairs  are  spun  as  the  pieces 
pull  apart  and  the  wind  later  transports  them. 

Dana  at  this  visit  recognized  the  growth  of  cones  from  the 
solidification  of  lava  about  the  edges  of  the  pools.  To  the  east 
of  the  lakes  there  stood  a  singular  sphere  of  lava  like  a  petrified 
fountain.  "A  column  of  hardened  lava  drops  had  been  raised  on 
a  rudely  shaped  conical  base,  having  a  height  in  all  of  about 
forty  feet.  It  had  been  formed  over  a  small  vent,  out  of  which 
the  liquid  rock  was  shot  up  in  driblets  and  small  jets — making 
one  of  the  fantastic  driblet  cones,  as  the  author  has  since  called 
them — the  result  of  blowing-hole  action."  These  are  spiracles  as 
defined  by  Scrope. 

The  surface  of  the  great  lake  was  bordered  by  banks  fifteen  to 
twenty  feet  high.  Dana  got  the  impression  of  a  very  quiet  action. 
It  seemed  as  if  a  copious  stream  came  to  the  surface  for  a  mo- 
ment and  then  flowed  on.  Combined  with  this  the  natural  opposi- 
tion to  the  statements  of  what  seemed  exaggerated  tales  of  vio- 
lence, led  him  to  deny  to  a  large  extent  the  presence  of  explosive 
action.  Kilauea  was  the  type  of  quiet  volcanic  action.  Ex- 
plosive action  pertained  to  other  volcanoes  like  Vesuvius. 

The  following  is  an  abstract  of  the  conclusions  reached  in  the 
official  report.  First  those  relating  to  Kilauea. 

i.  No  cinder  cones  were  present  because  the  jets  did  not  rise 
high  enough  to  allow  the  accumulation  of  fragments. 


195 

2.  The  action  was  markedly  quiet.     The  amount  of  lava  dis- 
charged in  1840  was  about  half  of  that  thrown  out  in  1823. 

3.  The  lava  finds  an  exit  through  rents  in  the  ledges  low 
down. 

4.  A  pit  four  hundred  to  five  hundred  feet  deep  was  formed 
at  the  time  of  eruption  (in  1832  and  1840). 

5.  There  were  three  great  eruptions  in  seventeen  years,  with 
intervals  of  nine  years  and  eight  years. 

6.  There  have  been  discharges  from  the  walls  of  the  pit  as 
well  as  at  the  bottom.     The  pools  rise  and  fall  independently  of 
each  other. 

7.  The  lavas  are  principally  glassy  scoriae;  no  true  pumice; 
ferruginous  stalactites  formed  by  the  action  of  steam  on  the  roofs 
of  caves.      Minerals  are  sulphur,  gypsum,  iron  alum,  copper  sul- 
phate, sal-ammoniac  and  gases.      Olivine  is  frequent  and  must 
have  come  from  below  in  the  solid  form. 

8.  There  is  an  unceasing  current  to  the  southwest,  a  part  of  a 
boiling  movement.     The  temperature  of  the  molten  lava  probably 
1,900  degrees  Fah. 

9.  Kilauea  is  not  a  solfatara,  though  the  sulphur  banks  (near 
the  Volcano  House)  may  be  so  regarded. 

General  conclusions  concerning  both  volcanoes. 

1.  Absence  of  cinder  cones. 

2.  Eruptions  are  quiet. 

3.  Mauna  Loa  and  Kilauea  are  isolated ;  there  is  no  sympathy 
in  their  eruptions,  so  that  no  action  like  that  of  a  syphon  can  be 
predicated. 

4.  The  eruptions  require  water,  which  is  supplied  by  the  ac- 
cumulations at  the  surface. 

5.  These  volcanoes  are  not  safety  valves. 

6.  The  volcanic  action  is  simply  an  overflow  of  a  liquid  which 
accumulates  till  it  exerts  a  pressure  adequate  to  force  discharges 
through  weak  walls.      It  is  a  change  from  a  quiet  flow  to  great 
activity  upon  the  mountain's  side.     There  is  no  good  evidence  to 
prove  that  water  reaches  to  the  central  fire  of  the  earth's  interior. 

7.  The  kinds  of  crater  are  (a)  lava  cones,  (b)  cinder  scoria 
cones,  (c)  tufa  cones,  (d)  pit  craters. 

8.  Kilauea  and  ten  of  the  Mount  Loa  cones  are  pit  craters,  the 
results  of  subsidence.      The  formation  of  the  pits,  or  places  of 
ejection  of  fire,  have  been  from  the  northwest  to  the  southeast. 

The  two  kinds  of  lava  were  noticed,  the  pahoehoe  and  aa,  and 
the  latter  were  called  "clinkers"  which  were  represented  as  or- 
dinary lava  ceasing  to  move  through  cooling,  and  then  stimulated 
to  activity  by  a  fresh  ejection  which  broke  up  the  original  stream 


196 

and  forced  the  fragments  forwards ;  compared  also  to  the  break- 
ing up  of  ice  in  rivers.  The  slope  of  this  land  from  Kilauea  to 
Nanawale  was  stated  to  be  i°  28'  or  one  hundred  and  thirty-five 
feet  to  the  mile,  and  the  average  slope  of  Mauna  Loa  6°  30'. 

,THE  REGION  OF  THE  DISCHARGE  OF  1840  AS  DESCRIBED  BY. 

WILKES. 

Captain  Wilkes  went  over  the  ground  traversed  by  this  erup- 
tion January  i8th  to  23d,  1841,  and  published  a  map  of  the 
region.  He  used  the  name  of  Lua  Pele  for  Kilauea  iki.  A  short 
distance  from  this  he  observed  a  deep  crevice  about  four  feet 
wide,  extending  in  a  southerly  direction.  At  two  miles  he  passed 
the  pit-crater  Kalanokano.  This  new  term  he  explains  as  a 
crater  "of  which  there  is  no  appearance  whatever  until  one  is 
close  upon  it,  and  which  never  throws  out  lava."  It  might  have 
been  formed  by  the  undermining  of  the  part  beneath  them,  as  by 
a  stream  of  lava,  which  running  away  had  left  large  cavities  with- 
out any  adequate  support,  and  the  superincumbent  rock  would 
fall  down.  Some  of  these  pit-craters  are  from  eight  hundred  to 
1,000  feet  deep.  The  other  craters  he  describes  as  hills  of  scoria 
and  ashes  formed  by  the  ejection  of  lava,  and  gives  them  the  name 
of  cone-crater. 

The  first  cone-crater  met  with  is  about  a  mile  beyond  Kalano- 
kano, called  Puukehula,  about  eight  hundred  feet  high  above  the 
plain.  From  its  summit  eight  pit  craters  were  visible;  four  on 
the  Kilauea  side,  one  at  the  foot  of  Puukehulu,  and  three  others 
to  the  east-southeast  with  two  cone  craters  Moka-opuhi  and  Kane- 
muokama.  The  pit  crater  Alealea-iki,  at  the  foot  of  Puukehulu  is 
about  five  hundred  feet  deep,  and  shows  that  a  stream  of  lava  has 
flowed  into  it.  Kanemuokama  is  the  largest  of  all  the  pit  craters 
except  Kilauea,  and  an  old  crater  adjacent  the  most  regular  of 
any  that  the  exploring  party  had  seen  upon  the  island.  The  new 
eruptions  on  both  sides  of  Moka-opuhi  appeared  simultaneously 
upon  May  3ist. 

For  several  miles  the  country  consists  of  rough  lava  clinkers 
overgrown  with  grass  and  stunted  shrubbery,  where  walking 
proved  to  be  irksome  and  dangerous.  About  thirteen  miles  south- 
east from  the  new  opening  is  the  cone-crater  of  Kalalua  of  the 
altitude  of  1,100  feet  above  the  plain.  It  has  sent  forth  streams 
of  pahoehoe.  At  the  altitude  of  1,244  feet,  twenty-seven  miles 
from  Kilauea,  twenty-one  from  the  first  outbreak  and  twelve  from 
the  seashore  at  Nanawale,  is  situated  the  commencement  of  the 
final  outbreak.  It  began  in  a  point,  gradually  enlarging,  and  in 
two  miles  became  a  torrent  of  fluid  rock  from  ten  to  fifteen  feet 


197 

thick,  sweeping  everything  before  it.  The  fallen  timber  still  re- 
mained, only  holes  were  left  to  show  where  it  once  stood,  the 
stumps  having  been  entirely  consumed,  sometimes  reaching  a 
depth  of  twelve  to  fifteen  feet.  In  some  places  lava  was  found 
adhering  to  the  leaves  and  branches  of  trees.  A  copse  of  bam- 
boo remained  in  the  midst  of  the  flow,  and  many  of  the  trees  were 
still  living.  Some  large  trees  not  more  than  twenty  feet  from 
the  stream  were  scarcely  affected,  while  it  was  still  possible  to 
light  walking  sticks  two  feet  below  the  surface  and  only  thirty 
yards  from  these  living  trees.  This  was  eight  months  after  the 
eruption.  Nearer  the  sea  all  the  foliage  to  the  distance  of  three 
hundred  and  fifty  yards  from  the  lava  stream  was  killed.  The 
slope  of  this  stream  was  about  one  hundred  feet  to  the  mile,  and 
its  velocity  was  estimated  to  be  about  four  hundred  feet  an  hour. 
Wilkes  observed  many  fissures  along  the  whole  line  and  thinks 
that  lava  must  have  flowed  from  them,  as  lava  seems  to  have  is- 
sued from  them  in  some  cases.  Where  the  ground  was  steep, 
underground  tunnels  were  apparent.  The  upper  part  of  the  stream 
consisted  of  pahoehoe,  and  much  of  the  lower  part,  while  some- 
what suggestive  of  clinkers  (aa),  was  to  be  compared  with  the 
slabs  of  ice  in  rivers  when  broken  up  by  the  force  of  the  current. 
About  six  miles  from  the  sea  there  seems  to  have  been  a  simultane- 
ous outbreak  over  a  large  area.  Occasionally  a  "blowing  cone" 
was  seen  with  quantities  of  salts,  sulphur  and  hot  gases  still  issu- 
ing from  it. 

At  the  sea  the  lava  fell  over  a  cliff  into  the  water  for  a  width 
of  three-quarters  of  a  mile.  There  were  three  sand  hills,  evi- 
dently accumulated  from  a  shower  of  shivered  particles  of  lava 
that  prevailed  while  the  fiery  cataract  existed.  They  were  one 
hundred  and  fifty  and  two  hundred  and  fifty  feet  high  when 
Wilkes  saw  them.  Brigham  says  they  were  not  a  third  as  high 
in  1864.  And  in  1883  and  1899  when  seen  by  myself,  they  were 
still  smaller,  because  of  the  action  of  the  sea.  The  sand  originally 
extended  about  one  hundred  feet  into  the  ocean.  There  is  more 
olivine  in  this  sand  than  is  common  in  the  lava;  due  probably  to 
its  higher  specific  gravity. 

Wilkes'  figure  of  these  sand  hills  represents  a  fissure  between 
them,  but  his  mention  of  the  sand  storm  would  seem  to  imply 
an  eolian  origin.  Dana's  figure  made  in  November,  1840,  does  not 
indicate  any  fissure,  but  in  his  text  he  calls  them  examples  of  ele- 
vations thrown  up  suddenly  over  fissures  of  eruption.  "They 
consist  of  a  rusty  yellow  tufa,  distinctly  and  finely  laminated." 
Had  he  not  adhered  to  this  theoretical  statement  down  to  his  latest 
publication,  it  would  seem  as  if  he  had  himself  shown  the  way  to  a 


198 

better  view,  for  he  says:  "The  sands  are  said  to  have  been 
thrown  out  from  the  center  of  each  hill  while  in  progress;  yet 
there  was  no  cavity  at  top.  As  the  molten  lava  met  the  sea  there 
was  a  violent  explosion  and  an  ejection  of  fragments  which  fell 
around  the  center  of  eruption ;  and  owing  to  the  water  which  as- 
cended and  descended  with  them,  the  structure  became  laminated." 
The  stratification  is  concentric:  hence  the  layers  were  entirely  of 
eolian  origin.  It  is  easy  to  contrast  the  structures  of  these  sand 
hills  with  tuff  cones  formed  near  the  seashore  in  the  normal 
eruptive  way.  These  always  show  a  hollow  interior.  I  have 
found  these  peculiar  sand  hills  on  the  edge  of  the  sea  in  other 
parts  of  Hawaii  and  Maui  and  believe  them  all  to  have  had  an 
eolian  origin. 

EJLAUEA  BETWEEN  1841  AND  1849. 

In  the  interval  between  the  discharges  of  1840  and  1849  two 
novel  features  are  developed.  The  first  relates  to  the  production 
of  a  central  lava  lake  resting  in  a  basin  of  its  own  cooled  material. 
The  second  is  concerned  with  the  encirclement  of  Halemaumau  by 
an  igneous  canal,  coinciding  nearly  with  the  edge  of  the  next 
black  ledge  to  be  formed. 

In  February,  1842,  Mr.  Coan  writes:  "When  within  four  or 
five  rods  of  the  great  lake,  unaware  of  our  near  proximity  to  it, 
we  saw  directly  before  us  a  vast  area  of  what  we  had  supposed 
to  be  solid  lava  moving  off  to  the  right  and  left.  We  were  at 
first  a  little  startled,  not  knowing  but  all  was  about  to  float  away 
beneath  us,  especially  as  the  lavas  for  a  mile  back  were  almost 
insupportably  hot,  and  gases  and  steam  were  escaping  from  nu- 
merous openings.  On  looking  again,  we  perceived  that  the  whole 
surface  of  the  lake  was  from  six  to  fifteen  feet  above  the  level  of 
the  surrounding  lava,  although  at  my  last  visit  it  was  from  sixty 
to  seventy  feet  below.  Within  six  feet  of  this  embankment  we 
could  see  nothing  of  the  lake,  and  in  order  to  examine  it  we 
climbed  the  precipice  some  fifty  feet.  The  explanation  of  this 
strange  condition  of  things  is  this :  when  the  liquid  contents  of  the 
lake  had  risen  to  a  level  with  the  brim  there  was  a  constant  and 
gradual  boiling  over  of  the  viscid  mass,  but  in  quantities  too  small 
to  run  off  far.  Consequently  it  solidified  on  the  margin,  and  thus 
formed  the  high  rim  which  confined  the  lavas.  Twice,  or  at  two 
points  while  we  were  there,  the  liquid  flood  broke  through  the 
rim  and  flowed  off  in  a  broad,  deep  channel  which  continued  its 
flow  until  we  left  the  volcano.  The  view  was  a  new  one,  and 
thrilling  beyond  description." 


PLATE  30. 


f'<^--?  A  I  i  \'  •  THE  CRATE  R  or 

KILAUEA 


Map  of  Kilauea,  1346. 


199 

In  July,  1844,  Mr.  Coan  describes  a  vast  overflow  at  Halemau- 
mau,  from  which  rivers  of  lava  proceeded  adjacent  to  the  black 
ledge  on  either  side.  The  beginning  of  the  process  consisted  in 
the  welling  from  below  of  so  much  liquid  that  the  outlines  of 
Halemaumau  were  obliterated.  The  streams  were  described  as 
two  deep  canals  five  to  fifteen  rods  wide,  one  hundred  feet  deep 
and  two  miles  long ;  it  was  a  lake  having  two  outlets  at  its  opposite 
points,  each  one  following  the  margin  of  the  black  ledge  and  com- 
ing within  half  a  mile  of  each  other  under  the  northern  wall  of 
the  caldera. 

Mr.  Coan  had  the  company  of  his  son,  Titus  Munson  Coan, 
who  noted  the  conditions  already  mentioned,  and  spoke  also  of  a 
small  lake  upon  the  floor  of  the  pit  at  about  the  middle  of  the 
west  side.  A  diagram  accompanied  Mr.  Coan's  letter,  a  mere  out- 
line, but  having  all  the  essential  features  indicated  two  years  later 
by  Mr.  Lyman. 

There  were  fissures  along  the  course  of  the  canals,  one  of  them 
two  hundred  feet  deep,  and  in  one  place  the  lava 
plunged  down  a  precipice  of  fifty  feet.  The  character  of  this 
display  was  not  explained  at  the  time.  In  June,  1846,  Mr.  Coan 
reported  that  the  central  parts  of  the  floor  had  been  elevated  four 
or  five  hundred  feet  since  1840,  so  that  some  portions  of  it  are 
higher  than  the  black  ledge.  Professor  Dana  thinks  from  this 
statement  that  in  1844  the  lower  floor  was  less  than  one  hundred 
and  forty  feet  deep,  except  along  the  wide  canals. 

The  observations  of  Rev.  C.  S.  Lyman  in  July,  1846,  explain 
the  rapid  obliteration  of  the  lower  pit.  See  our  Plate  30  re- 
storing the  condition  of  the  caldera  after  the  rude  sketch  of  Mr. 
Lyman.  He  found  the  conditions  reported  by  Mr.  Coan.  By 
instrumental  measurements  he  proved  that  the  black  ledge  still  re- 
tained the  level  of  six  hundred  and  fifty  feet  below  Uwekahuna  as 
given  by  Wilkes.  But  there  was  a  "canal  nearly  up  to  the  black 
ledge,  and  in  some  places  quite,"  encircling  the  pit,  though  in  some 
parts  obliterated.  Along  the  inner  margin  of  a  part  of  the  canal 
was  a  continuous  ridge  of  angular  blocks  of  compact  lava  often 
fifty  or  one  hundred  feet  high,  which  Mr.  Lyman  considered  "once 
constituted  a  talus,  or  accumulation  of  debris"  on  the  slope  of  the 
black  ledge  of  1840;  the  floor  with  this  margin  of  blocks  had  been 
elevated  till  this  ridge  overtopped  the  edge  of  the  escarpement  at 
whose  incline  it  had  been  accumulated.  He  adds :  "The  pheno- 
menon seems  inexplicable  on  any  other  hypothesis  than  that  of  the 
bodily  upheaving  of  the  inner  floor  of  the  crater."  "When  visited 
by  the  Exploring  Expedition  of  1840,  the  surface  of  the  Great 
Lake  was  between  three  hundred  and  four  hundred  feet  below 


2OO 

the  black  ledge,  and  measured  only  a  thousand  by  fifteen  hundred 
feet  in  diameter.  Consequently  in  six  years  the  lake  had  not  only 
increased  in  size,  but  it  had  actually  risen  in  height  as  much  as  it 
had  been  previously  depressed  by  the  out-draining  of  lavas  in 
the  eruption  of  1840.  This  gradual  rising  of  the  solid  embank- 
ment of  the  lake  contemporaneously  with  the  lake  itself,  together 
with  the  filling  up  of  the  whole  interior  of  the  crater,  is  doubtless 
to  be  attributed  to  the  combined  effect  of  repeated  overflowing  to- 
gether with  the  upheaving  agency  of  subterranean  forces."  The 
lake  at  the  southern  end  seems  to  have  been  raised  upon  a  rim 
ten  to  twenty  feet  high,  with  the  diameters  of  2,000  and  2,400 
feet.  The  lavas  were  in  gentle  ebullition,  tossing  up  broken  jets 
five  to  fifteen  feet  and  frequently  encrusted,  and  had  a  general 
movement  southwesterly.  Sticks  of  wood  thrown  into  the  liquid 
immediatefy  disappeared,  but  were  instantly  followed  by  a  sudden 
outburst  of  flame  and  smoke. 

The  "Furnace"  marked  on  the  map  was  the  beginning  of  a 
dome,  ten  or  twelve  feet  high  with  walls  a  foot  thick,  compared 
by  a  later  writer  to  pie-crust ;  inactive  in  July  but  "in  full  blast" 
six  weeks  later  in  August.  Brigham  compares  this  to  one  of  the 
"hornitos"  described  by  Humboldt  in  the  malpays  of  Jorullo, 
Mexico. 

On  December  7th,  Mr.  Coan  found  the  lake  full  and  active. 
On  July,  1847,  the  great  lake  had  filled  up  and  overflowed  a 
considerable  area  around  its  rim,  and  it  was  easy  to  dip  up  the 
viscid  matter  with  sticks  and  ladles.  Early  in  1848  a  thick  crust 
formed  over  Halemaumau  and  was  raised  into  a  dome  covering 
the  whole  lake.  This  increased  in  size  and  by  August  was  almost 
high  enough  "to  overtop  the  lower  part  of  the  outer  wall  of 
Kilauea  and  look  out  upon  the  surrounding  country."  This  meant 
two  hundred  or  three  hundred  feet  elevation,  traversed  here  and 
there  by  fissures  through  which  it  was  possible  to  descry  the 
glowing  of  the  subterranean  fires.  Occasionally  lava  was  pressed 
sluggishly  through  these  apertures,  rolling  in  heavy  and  irregu- 
lar streams  down  the  sides,  spreading  and  cooling  over  the  slopes 
or  at  the  base.  Thus  this  dome  has  been  formed  partly  by  up- 
heaval and  partly  by  igneous  accretion.  This  is  the  first  account 
of  a  dome  over  Halemaumau. 

Still  later  in  the  autumn  of  1848  an  extraordinary  inactivity  pre- 
vailed throughout  the  crater.  No  fire  was  visible,  even  in  the 
night. 


201 
ERUPTION  OF  1849. 

This  eruption  was  not  very  important.  In  April  and  May  ex- 
plosions and  detonations  from  the  cones  of  the  great  dome  startled 
travelers.  They  were  compared  to  the  discharge  of  whole  ranks 
of  musketeers  or  field  artillery.  They  were  repeated  hourly  and 
attended  by  a  brilliant  column  of  red-hot  lava,  rising  fifty  or  sixty 
feet  above  the  dome.  "At  other  times  red-hot  stones  were  pro- 
jected with  great  force  into  the  air  and  sent  whizzing  like  fiery 
meteors  through  the  gloom  of  night."  Later  a  stream  of  lava 
came  from  the  ridge  of  the  dome,  flowed  to  the  base  and  wound 
along  the  floor  like  a  fiery  serpent.  These  phenomena  are  what 
precede  an  eruption;  and  as  they  ceased  shortly  afterwards,  it  is 
presumed  that  the  lavas  escaped  into  some  subterranean  cavity, 
and  the  fires  went  out. 

During  the  two  years  1850  and  1851  there  was  very  little  indi- 
cation of  heat.  Mr.  Coan  characterizes  it  as  a  time  of  "steaming 
stupefaction."  In  March,  1852,  he  says  the  great  dome  a  mile 
and  a  half-  in  circuit  and  several  hundred  feet  high  has  lost  its 
keystone  and  the  opening  is  one  hundred  feet  in  diameter,  increas- 
ing to  two  hundred  in  July.  The  lake  is  gradually  rising  and 
threatening  to  engulf  the  whole  overhanging  mass;  but  in  the 
latter  part  of  1853  ^  stiU  remained,  two  miles  in  circuit  and  from 
three  hundred  to  six  hundred  feet  high.  The  central  lower  plat- 
form rose  during  this  year  above  the  black  ledge,  some  points  of 
it  being  six  hundred  feet  higher  than  after  the  eruption  of  1840, 
and  in  some  portions  200  feet  above  the  black  ledge.  Lyman's 
ridge  of  blocks  retained  its  position  little  changed. 

The  crater  was  "unusually  dull"  all  through  1854.  Ferns  and 
ohelo  bushes  grew  upon  the  lower  platform. 

ERUPTION  OF  1855. 

In  May  and  June  travelers  reported  a  fiery  girdle  around  the 
whole  circumference  of  the  caldera ;  intense  heat  and  suffocating 
gases  were  encountered  upon  the  road  back  of  Uwekahuna,  so  that 
men  and  horses  were  forced  to  make  a  wide  detour  to  the  west. 
The  fires  evidently  followed  the  course  of  the  canals  reported  in 
1846;  and  along  these  lines  Mr.  Coan  could  count  sixty  areas  of 
fusion  or  "lakes  of  leaping  lavas."  One  great  lake  was  located 
at  the  foot  of  the  path  down  the  sloping  terraces,  and  there  were 
other  boiling  caldrons  so  that  the  continuity  of  the  road  to  Hale- 
maumau  was  interrupted. 

On  July  6th,  Mr.  T.  M.  Coan  found  the  lava  lake  in  the  path 
mostly  covered  by  a  crust,  but  the  lavas  were  in  violent  action  in 


2O2 

several  places  along  the  margin  of  the  black  ledge.  Halemau- 
mau  was  estimated  to  be  two  hundred  and  fifty  to  four  hundred 
feet  in  diameter  surrounded  by  walls  seventy-five  feet  high.  The 
surface  became  encrusted,  but  every  five  minutes  there  opened  in 
the  center  a  fiery  surface  perhaps  fifteen  feet  across  from  which 
a  fountain  would  burst  out  up  to  twenty-five  or  thirty  feet.  In 
the  vicinity  another  similar  fountain  in  a  few  seconds  would  start 
up  and  go  through  the  same  changes.  There  were  furious 
surgings  and  outflows  of  lava  from  cavernous  openings  under  the 
northeast  wall.  Much  Pele's  hair  was  found  and  there  were  two 
islands  in  the  northwest  part  of  the  lake. 

Sept.  8,  1855.  Lake  two  or  three  miles  in  circumference,  circu- 
lar. Several  comes  emitting  smoke,  from  some  of  which  issued 
streams  of  lava.  "One  stream  was  not  less  than  seventy-five  or 
one  hundred  feet  wide,  descending  at  an  angle  of  near  45°  and 
branching  off  in  two  opposite  directions.  Two  of  these  cones 
presented  the  appearance  of  immense  furnaces."  At  night  there 
was  the  great  light  of  the  lake  and  some  twenty  lesser  lights 
visible. — Editorial  by  S.  C.  Damon  in  the  Friend. 

October  9th  there  was  less  activity  and  the  dome  had  fallen  in. 
There  had  been  a  dozen  open  lakes  arranged  in  two  semicircular 
lines  from  Halemaumau  along  the  eastern  and  western  sides,  prob- 
ably on  the  border  of  the  lower  platfom  of  the  previous  years. 
The  flow  is  very  distinct  northwards.  The  encircling  belt  has 
been  elevated  between  one  hundred  and  two  hundred  feet  since 
April. 

Though  meager  these  accounts  are  believed  to  describe  the  im- 
portant breakdown  of  1855,  coinciding  essentially  with  the  great 
eruption  from  a  vent  high  up  upon  Mauna  Loa.  It  i§  confirmed 
by  the  estimate  of  the  height  of  Uwekahuna  given  by  Mr.  Weld 
in  the  following  month. 

Mr.  F.  G.  Weld  visited  Kilauea  November  I4th,  1855,  on  the 
way  to  the  flow  of  1855,  Mauna  Loa.  It  was  not  a  time  of  ac- 
tivity. No  lake  of  fire  could  be  seen,  although  the  light  of  sub- 
terranean fires  was  obvious  at  night.  His  companion,  Mr.  Stuart 
Wortley,  observed  that  hot  stones  and  melted  lava  were  occa- 
sionally ejected  from  small  craters.  And  Mr.  Weld  on  his  return 
from  Mauna  Loa  spoke  of  the  floor  as  being  evidently  the  cooled 
upper  crust  of  fused  lava.  The  small  mounds  have  orifices  like 
the  mouth  of  a  lime  kiln  through  which  one  can  look  into  the 
red-hot  depths  below.  In  some  places  there  were  long  ridges  of 
smoking  rock  fragments  that  had  been  piled  confusedly  upon  one 
another.  Heat  and  noxious  gases  were  exhaled  from  various 
vents.  The  lava  was  generally  of  a  dull,  glossy  lead  color  when 


203 

cool;  but  of  a  brighter  green  or  blue  when  more  recent.  The 
'Tele's  hair"  had  reddish,  brownish  and  golden  hues.  These 
gentlemen  lodged  in  a  grass  hut.  The  height  of  the  highest  cliffs 
from  the  bottom  of  the  pit  has  been  estimated  to  be  1,500  feet,  and 
in  many  places  they  were  satisfied  it  was  considerably  less.  Other 
familiar  objects  were  seen  by  these  visitors. — From  Quarterly 
Journal  of  Geological  Society  of  London,  Vol.  13. 

BETWEEN  1855  AND  1868. 

In  March  and  October,  1856,  there  was  some  sluggish  lava  in 
Halemaumau  and  hundreds  of  steam  jets.  The  inner  platform 
of  hardened  lavas  keeps  its  elevation  of  about  six  hundred  feet 
above  its  level  of  1840. 

J.  H.  Wood  in  1892  says  that  in  1856  the  crater  floor  was  sev- 
rael  hundred  feet  deeper  than  at  the  time  of  writing.  There  were 
cones,  chimneys  and  blow  holes,  and  a  ridge  of  rocks  entirely  gone 
later.  The  caldron  was  surrounded  by  a  rim  thirty  feet  above 
the  crater  floor  and  fifty  feet  above  the  lake,  where  the  lava  was 
surging,  spouting  and  tossing  masses  from  minute  particles  to 
tons  in  weight. 

In  June,  1857,  Halemaumau  was  a  lake  of  five  hundred  feet 
diameter  surrounded  by  ragged  walls  a  hundred  feet  high.  Every 
three  minutes  a  crust  would  form  and  then  be  broken  up. 

There  was  little  change  in  the  conditions  during  1858.  In 
August  the  great  lake  had  the  same  size  as  in  1857  and  there  was 
a  constant  freezing  of  a  crust  alternating  with  fractures  and  melt- 
ing. 

In  1859  Kilauea  was  comparatively  quiet,  showing  no  sympathy 
with  the  great  outpouring  upon  Mauna  Loa.  For  several  years 
about  the  same  story  of  the  comparative  quiet  of  the  central  lake, 
the  constancy  of  the  lower  platform  and  occasional  small  displays 
of  fire  is  told. 

Halemaumau  was  a  lake  about  six  hundred  feet  in  diameter. 
Without  it,  in  the  basin,  there  was  a  driblet  mound  with  pin- 
nacles and  turrets.  In  1863  a  large  fountain  played  at  the  mid- 
dle of  the  lake  at  intervals  from  a  few  seconds  to  half  a  minute, 
throwing  up  crusts  of  lava  ten  or  twelve  feet  high,  and  smaller 
portions  twenty  or  thirty  feet  high.  Elsewhere  it  was  covered 
by  a  thin  crust  easily  ruptured  by  small  stones  thrown  upon  it. 
In  October,  1863,  the  great  lake  and  the  black  ledge  were  covered 
by  fresh  lavas,  while  the  central  table  land  five  or  six  hundred 
feet  above  the  floor  of  1840  showed  no  change. 

In  1864  Mr.  W.  T.  Brigham  commenced  his  examination  of 
the  volcano  and  its  surrounding.  With  instruments  he  made  an 


204 

accurate  map  which  has  been  the  basis  of  every  plan  published 
since  that  time.  This  is  reproduced,  as  modified  by  Captain  But- 
ton, in  Plate  31 ;  and  from  it  one  can  learn  the  conditions  preva- 
lent in  1864  and  1865  and  n°te  the  changes  from  the  features  de- 
scribed by  his  predecessors.  Professor  Dana  comments  freely 
upon  these  data  in  his  book. 

Some  of  the  dimensions  as  measured  upon  this  map  are  as  fol- 
lows :  The  main  caldera  is  nearly  three  miles  long ;  the  greatest 
width  nearly  two  and  one-quarter  miles;  extreme  length  of  the 
depression  from  north  of  the  sulphur  bank  to  extreme  south  end 
three  and  three-quarter  miles ;  upper  triangular  platform  near  the 
house  nearly  one  mile  long;  circumference  of  the  main  pit  eight 
and  one-half  miles.  The  bottom  of  the  pit  is  stated  to  be  "more 
than  four  hundred  feet."  The  observations  relate  to  1864,  1865, 
and  the  map  surveys  were  made  in  1865,  between  August  20 
and  24. 

The  following  features  are  distinctive :  The  floor  is  essentially 
upon  the  same  level,  the  lower  pit  having  been  nearly  obliterated 
by  the  lava  overflows.  The  position  of  the  margin  of  the  black 
ledge  is  indicated  by  the  "high  rock"  and  "ancient  lava,"  obvi- 
ously identical  with  Lyman's  ridge  of  loose  blocks ;  by  the  two 
small  lava  lakes  near  the  northwest  corner,  two  patches  of  lava 
farther  south  and  the  active  cones,  one  on  each  side  of  the  pit. 
A  painting  by  Mr.  Perry  in  1865,  as  photographed  by  Brigham, 
shows  the  position  of  the  black  ledge  very  plainly,  in  the  slight 
shading;  but  the  whole  bottom  was  regarded  as  the  black  ledge. 
The  sulphur  banks  on  the  southeast  side  of  the  pit  are  smaller 
than  ever  before.  Halemaumau  has  its  old  position,  and  had  a 
diameter  of  eight  hundred  feet  in  1864  and  1,000  in  August,  1865. 
It  was  surrounded  by  walls  fifty  feet  high  in  1864  and  thirty  feet 
high  in  1865.  Judging  from  the  illustrations  the  surface  of  the 
molten  lava  was  considerably  agitated.  Occasionally  the  liquid 
rose  suddenly  several  feet  and  was  "boiling  violently  and  dash- 
ing against  the  sides,  throwing  the  red-hot  spray  high  over  the 
banks."  "There  was  no  noise  except  the  dash  and  sullen  roar." 
The  two  small  islands  present  in  1864  had  disappeared  in  1865. 

Other  interesting  features  were  the  "Cathedral,"  a  driblet 
cone  with  several  turrets  of  varying  altitude,  mentioned  first  by 
Mr.  Coan  in  1862 ;  several  caves,  exhibiting  the  singular  stalactitic 
tubes,  and  stalagmites;  fissures  or  cracks  near  the  northern  sul- 
phur banks,  Waldron's  ledge,  near  Keanakakoi  and  by  Uweka- 
huna,  all  concentric  with  the  wall  of  this  pit ;  and  finallv  one  nearly 
a  mile  long  rudely  concentric  with  Halemaumau.  This  possibly 
corresponded  to  the  border  of  the  columnar  mass  outlining  the 


205 

elevations  in  1888  and  1892.  Halemaumau  was  eight  hundred 
feet  long  in  1864  and  1,000  in  August,  1865.  The  encircling 
banks  varied  from  fifty  to  thirty  feet  in  height.  The  liquid  was 
usually  quiescent  though  occasionally  in  violent  ebullition  and 
throwing  the  spray  over  the  bank.  The  small  island  visible  in 
1864  had  disappeared  in  the  following  year.  Distinct  flames  of 
fire  were  also  observed.  "They  burst  from  the  surface  and  were 
in  tongues  or  wide  sheets  a  foot  long  and  of  a  bluish  color,  quite 
distinct  from  the  lava  even  when  white-hot ;  they  played  over  the 
whole  surface  at  intervals,  and  I  thought  they  were  more  fre- 
quent after  one  of  the  periodical  risings  of  the  surface  in  the  pit." 

In  1865  RCV-  O-  H.  Gulick  presented  to  the  landlord  of  the 
grass  house  which  had  been  built  for  the  convenience  of  visitors,  a 
record  book  in  which  notes  might  be  written  descriptive  of  the 
conditions  at  the  volcano.  I  have  been  able  to  examine  all  the 
records  from  this  early  date  through  the  whole  intervening  period 
to  the  end  of  1908;  and  will  quote  freely  from  them.  Mention 
was  made  by  Mr.  Gulick  of  the  formation  of  a  great  crack  on  the 
side  of  Uwekahuna  from  three  to  eight  feet  wide  in  September, 
1863,  following  an  eruption  in  May  or  June  which  flowed  over 
an  area  of  one  thousand  acres,  and  another  smaller  lake  was 
formed  near  the  north  wall.  There  were  several  of  these  active 
vents  in  that  part  of  the  pit  specially  mentioned  as  existing  in 
1864  and  1865. 

June  4,  1865,  D.  H.  Hitchcock  made  his  nineteenth  visit  to 
Kilauea  and  observed  a  lake  on  the  north  side  three  hundred  feet 
long  adjacent  to  a  spiteful  chimney.  The  older  lake  had  been 
extended  to  the  northward  and  lava  flowed  from  the  new  lake 
for  a  mile. 

June  27.     C.  Arnold  found  the  lake  unusually  active. 

In  May,  June  and  July,  1866,  Mr.  Coan  describes  a  great  in- 
crease in  activity.  New  lakes  and  new  cones  opened  along  a 
curve  northwest  to  north  of  Halemaumau,  flooding  all  that  por- 
tion of  the  caldera  and  reaching  to  the  sulphur  banks.  The  area 
covered  was  two  miles  long,  and  half  a  mile  wide,  and  the  usual 
entrance  to  the  lake  was  cut  off.  Mr.  Sessan  estimated  the  size 
of  the  north  lake  as  two  hundred  by  five  hundred  feet.  There 
were  seven  lakes  between  this  and  Halemaumau  and  they  in- 
creased in  size  till  the  eruption  of  1868.  This  flooded  region 
was  said  by  Brigham  to  be  about  fifty  feet  below  the  central  area ; 
it  was  a  hundred  feet  higher  than  in  1865 ;  but  the  central  area 
has  also  risen  so  that  the  relative  height  was  about  the  same.  The 
general  appearance  of  Kilauea  had  changed.  The  ledge  of  broken 
blocks  near  the  margin  of  the  earlier  black  ledge  has  nearly  dis- 


206 

appeared  because  it  has  been  covered  by  the  recent  outflows,  and 
the  various  caves  have  been  obliterated.  Large  blocks  of  basalt 
have  fallen  from  the  steep  outside  walls,  which  were  speedily  ab- 
sorbed by  the  molten  flood,  illustrating  the  method  by  which  pit- 
craters  may  be  enlarged  horizontally.  Travelers  during  this 
summer  spoke  of  the  hissings,  spoutings,  rumblings  and  detona- 
tions as  terrific.  In  August  the  activity  ceased,  but  no  subterra- 
nean discharge  was  noted;  the  central  plateau  remained  undis- 
turbed and  hence  it  is  not  certain  that  an  eruption  took  place; 
though  the  phenomena  would  seem  to  indicate  a  considerable  dis- 
turbance. 

August  6,  1866,  Dr.  G.  P.  Judd  writes:  "I  first  visited  this 
crater  in  1830  when  its  depth  was  three  or  four  times  greater  than 
now.  In  1849  I  marked  a  spot  upon  the  bank  estimated  at  sixty 
feet  above  the  bottom  which  is  now  out  of  sight."  Oct.  23  he 
adds :  "Since  August  6  the  long  ridge  of  rocks  and  earth  which 
had  fallen  from  the  western  wall  and  appeared  to  be  floating  into 
the  middle  of  the  crater  bottom,  has  floated  past  the  middle  to 
the  eastward.  The  center  is  rising  slowly  without  change  of  sur- 
face, while  the  sides  of  the  whole  crater  have  been  overflowed  and 
kept  full  of  fresh  lava.  The  action  at  the  south  lake  is  grand. 
There  are  several  new  lakes." 

George  Clark,  July  20  to  25,  1867,  says  that  on  May  23,  1864, 
there  was  but  one  lake  and  that  not  large.  At  a  later  visit  he 
saw  a  large  island  melt  away.  On  the  iQth  inst.  he  first  saw  the 
large  north  lake,  with  several  others.  A  blow-hole  near  the  south 
lake  had  diminished  in  importance.  Very  much  new  lava  had 
been  flowing.  The  cones  seen  in  1864  are  filled  up. 

Sept.  1 8,  1869.  A.  Francis  Judd  wrote  that  he  first  visited 
Kilauea  in  1853.  The  bed  has  since  greatly  filled  up  and  the 
south  lake  has  many  rivals,  eight  of  them  being  now  in  sight. 

The  same  day  La  Paz  says :  "Kilauea  is  not  a  crater  but  a  deep 
chasm  formed  by  the  breaking  of  the  rocks  about  a  thousand  feet 
below  the  level  of  the  surrounding  country.  There  never  was  a 
lava  flow  from  Kilauea."  His  conclusions  were  based  upon  a 
comparison  of  Kilauea  with  various  volcanoes  in  Central  America. 
The  northern  lake  was  first  formed  in  March,  1867,  and  had  been 
enlarging  ever  since. 

KELAITEA  IN  1868. 

The  disturbances  occurring  this  year  have  been  to  some  extent 
confused  with  those  emanating  from  the  greater  neighbor  on  the 
north.  It  was  the  time  of  the  most  extensive  earthquakes  known 


207 

in  the  history  of  the  islands  and  it  has  not  been  absolutely  demon- 
strated whether  Kilauea  was  or  was  not  concerned  with  them. 

Dr.  Hillebrand  obtained  information  from  Judge  Kaina,  an  in- 
telligent Hawaiian  who  resided  near  Kilauea  during  the  times  of 
disturbance.  He  and  a  Chinaman  were  the  only  persons  at 
Kilauea  at  that  time.  From  January  2oth  to  March  27th  the 
crater  had  been  unusually  active:  there  were  eight  lively  lakes, 
frequently  overflowing.  There  was  a  large  blow  hole  to  the 
northwest  of  the  lakes  which  at  regular  intervals  of  a  minute  or 
less  threw  off  large  masses  of  vapor  comparable  to  the  discharge 
of  steam  from  a  locomotive.  This  ceased  about  March  I7th,  and 
the  lakes  became  more  active.  March  27th  the  first  earthquake 
shock  was  noted.  March  29th  Mr.  Fornander  found  fresh  incan- 
descent lava  in  the  bottom  of  the  crater.  April  2nd,  a  little  after 
4  P.  M.,  the  great  shock  occurred  and  great  commotions  through- 
out the  districts  of  Hilo,  Puna  and  Kau  ensued:  the  ground 
swayed  back  and  forth,  large  quantities  of  lava  were  thrown  to 
great  heights ;  portions  of  the  walls  of  Kilauea  fell  in  and  there 
were  fearful  detonations.  These  continued  for  more  than  three 
days.  "From  the  very  first  the  fire  began  to  recede."  The  first 
night  it  was  confined  to  the  lakes;  the  third  night  it  appeared 
only  in  the  south  lake ;  and  twenty- four  hours  later  it  had  entirely 
disappeared.  Two  days  still  later  came  the  first  outburst  of  Ka- 
huku.  April  2d  Kilauea  iki  was  overflowed  by  a  black  shiny 
lava,  which  adhered  to  the  trees  and  shrubs  in  the  upper  part  of 
its  course  as  shown  in  Plate  23. 

Dr.  Hillebrand  visited  the  locality  where  the  lava  from  Kilauea 
came  to  the  surface,  April  2Oth.  Near  the  fork  where  the  road 
turns  to  Puna  instead  of  continuing  on  to  Kilauea  (Halfway 
House),  heavy  clouds  of  white  vapor  were  seen  to  rise  on  the 
lower  side  of  the  road.  Half  an  hour's  ride  brought  the  party  to 
deep  crevasses  in  the  pahoehoe — the  longest  one  twenty-four  feet 
wide  with  no  bottom  visible.  It  was  followed  for  four  hundred 
feet,  but  with  less  width,  never  less  than  eight  feet.  In  a  belt 
about  six  hundred  feet  wide  parallel  with  the  first  were  a  number 
of  smaller  fissures.  From  many  of  these  openings  hot  steam  is- 
sued. Fire  was  not  visible,  but  it  would  appear  by  reflection  at 
night  and  was  probably  the  cause  of  the  supposed  fire  seen  for 
several  days. 

Judge  Kaina  is  quoted  in  the  Record  Book  as  saying  that  by 
April  5  the  fire  disappeared  and  was  not  seen  again  till  May  27. 
Since  then  the  depression  has  been  filling  up. 

July  26  W.  D.  Alexander  says:  "No  material  change  has 
taken  place  since  the  visit  of  Dr.  Hillebrand,  April  18.  Nearly 


208 

the  whole  of  the  pit  in  the  southwest  end  of  the  crater  is  in  a  state 
of  fusion.  It  is  nearly  divided  in  two  by  a  ridge  of  rocks.  The 
farther  one  of  the  two  has  about  the  same  position  as  the  old 
South  lake.  Nine  caves,  five  on  the  south  and  four  on  the  north 
side  were  spouting  fiercely,  while  at  the  eastern  end  a  small  lake 
spouted  thirty  or  forty  feet  high,  forming  a  large  cone  out  of 
the  falling  fragments.  About  the  center  of  the  farther  lake  lava 
was  flowing  in  a  southeast  direction.  Streams  from  the  cones 
took  the  same  direction.  The  eastern  boundary  of  the  pit  seems 
to  coincide  with  a  great  crack  formerly  existing  and  delineated 
upon  Mr.  Brigham's  map.  The  display  of  fireworks  tonight  was 
magnificent  and  shows  increasing  activity. 

Aug.  5  the  South  lake  was  the  center  of  operation. 

Aug.  7  W.  W.  Hall  says:  "There  was  very  little  action  but 
there  were  eight  or  nine  blowholes  making  a  great  noise,  and  fire 
was  visible  in  some  of  them.  The  activity  was  less  than  in  July." 

Sept.  5,  C.  E.  Stackpole  says :  "There  were  twelve  lakes  in  ac- 
tive operation  just  before  April  2.  Nearly  the  whole  of  the  north 
part  of  this  pit  was  thus  covered  with  liquid  lava.  For  two  weeks 
after  the  earthquake  there  was  no  fire,  but  it  has  now  returned." 

Mr.  Coan  was  quite  successful  in  his  search  for  a  discharge  of 
the  lava  in  August.  After  passing  several  smoking  fissures  he 
turned  to  the  left,  towards  the  sea,  and  after  an  hour's  hard  search 
among  rough  hills  discovered  five  different  points  on  a  line  of  less 
than  a  mile  in  length  where  fused  lavas  had  been  thrown  out. 
The  largest  patch  was  1,000  feet  long  and  six  hundred  wide, 
with  an  average  depth  of  ten  feet,  upon  whose  surface  tumulated 
eminences  were  still  steaming,  and  is  represented  upon  Plate  26, 
near  the  Halfway  House.  This  locality  is  about  eleven  miles 
S.  W.  from  Kilauea.  The  facts  discovered  by  Mr.  Coan  and 
their  connection  with  Kilauea  are  acceptible;  but  his  theoretical 
view  that  these  lavas  continued  underground  to  connect  with  the 
discharge  at  Kahuku  is  open  to  serious  objections. 

Mr.  E.  D.  Baldwin  has  investigated  the  country  to  the  south 
of  the  Halfway  House,  and  has  kindly  furnished  the  following 
statement:  The  reader  will  note  that  there  is  a  series  of  cracks 
to  the  south  of  the  Half-way  House  from  which  the 
considerable  area  of  lava  southwest  from  the  1823  flow  exuded. 
This  was  not  seen  by  Mr.  Coan.  The  area  as  figured  may  in- 
clude a  little  more  lava  than  belongs  to  it.  The  eastern  finger-like 
protuberance  must  have  been  part  of  an  older  flow :  but  the  flow 
is  believed  to  have  included  most  of  the  area  marked  '68  crack. 


209 

LETTER  FROM  E.  D.  BALDWIN. 

I  believe  you  asked  about  the  flow  from  the  1868  crack !  Would 
say  that  in  my  survey,  we  camped  about  two  weeks,  a  mile  below 
where  the  main  flow  left  the  crack ;  our  camp  being  located  mauka 
of  Puu  Nahaha,  an  old  fault  line,  just  two  miles  opposite  the 
Kapapala  Ranch  houses.  Just  back  of  the  Halfway  House,  the 
lava  made  two  large  spurts;  the  upper  one  welling  up  through 
the  crack  and  covering  probably  three  acres ;  about  one-half  mile 
below  this,  the  lava  spurted  up  through  the  crack  and  ran  for 
several  hundred  feet,  then  it  seems  to  have  run  under  ground, 
until  it  reached  the  point  mentioned  above,  about  a  mile  above  our 
camp,  where  the  whole  appearance  of  the  flow,  is  that  of  a  sud- 
den opening  of  the  crack  along  its  whole  line,  and  the  lava  flow- 
ing out  in  a  great  belch,  twenty  or  thirty  feet  high,  and  rushing 
towards  the  sea,  mostly  along  the  line  of  the  crack.  A  portion 
of  the  flow  turned  off  towards  the  1823  flow,  striking  several  old 
red  cones,  in  its  path,  and  completely  plastering  the  upper  side  of 
these  cones  with  new  black  lava.  One  old  red  cone  especially  was 
very  noticeable,  it  stood  right  in  the  line  of  the  rush  of  the  lava, 
which  struck  the  upper  side,  and  poured  over  the  upper  rim  and 
through  the  old  crater  in  the  same,  leaving  the  lower  side  of  this 
cone  untouched ;  as  the  high  rush  of  lava  passed  on,  it  subsided 
leaving  this  cone  standing  at  least  thirty  feet  high,  with  its  upper 
side  completely  plastered  with  a  layer  from  one  inch  to  a  few  inches 
in  thickness,  and  at  the  foot  of  all  of  the  cones,  immense  grooves 
in  the  new  lava  show  the  force  of  the  rush  of  lava  as  it  subsided. 
I  climbed  to  the  top  of  the  cone,  and  it  seemed  fully  forty  feet  high 
on  its  upper  side  and  highest  part  where  the  lava  had  just  reached 
and  splashed  over ;  on  both  sides  of  this  highest  point,  the  lava 
had  rushed  over  and  through  the  crater,  breaking  away  its  low- 
est wall  on  the  southwest  side.  I  made  several  trips  to  where 
the  main  flow  first  left  the  crack,  and  there  is  no  question  what- 
ever about  its  coming  from  the  crack  at  the  time  it  opened  in 
1868,  as  just  above  this  point  is  an  old  red  aa  flow,  and  all  the  lava 
around  is  the  same.  Also  from  this  point  and  all  along  the  crack 
for  miles  down  the  lava  spurted  into  the  air,  leaving  many  lava 
spatters,  sometimes  several  hundred  feet  from  the  crack,  looking 
more  like  our  old  mud  pies,  we  used  to  make  when  boys.  These 
lava  spatters  are  of  the  same  age  and  nature  as  the  flow ;  also  the 
flow  can  be  traced  all  along,  in  many  places,  running  back  into 
the  crack.  The  depth  of  the  flow  is  on  an  average  of  one  and 
one-half  feet,  and  in  many  places  looks  like  paving  it  is  so  smooth. 
Where  the  flow  struck  the  forest  in  its  line,  it  is  full  of  tree 
moulds,  many  of  which  stand  several  feet  high;  and  were  so 


2IO 

suddenly  formed  that  they  are  all  capped  over  with  lava  on  top. 
Judge  F.  S.  Lyman  of  Hilo,  was  living  at  Kau,  between  the 
Pahala  Mill  and  the  1868  mud  flow,  at  the  time  of  the  great  1868 
earthquake,  and  states  that  all  he  remembers,  is  that  they  saw  a 
great  many  lights  in  this  direction,  the  night  after  the  great  earth- 
quake, but  so  upset  and  taken  up  were  they  by  the  terrific  shak- 
ing they  got,  and  subsequent  Kahuku  flow,  from  Mauna  Loa, 
that  no  one  paid  any  attention  further  to  the  region  of  the  great 
crack.  My  opinion  is,  that  the  flow  from  the  1868  crack,  was  of 
only  a  few  hours  duration,  also  the  whole  line  of  this  flow  is  com- 
pletely hidden  from  the  Kapapala  Ranch  houses,  as  well  as  from 
Pahala,  by  the  Puu  Nahaha  fault  line,  and  Puu  Ula  hills,  also 
intervening  forest,  so  that  the  lights  seen  by  Mr.  Lyman,  must 
have  been  reflections  from  the  glow  holes  along  the  line  of  flow. 

THE  CHANGES  IN  THE  PIT. 

Returning  to  Kilauea,  Dr.  Hillebrand  states  that  on  the  i8th 
and  ipth  of  April,  the  crater  was  entirely  devoid  of  liquid  lava. 
Large  segments  of  the  walls  had  fallen  in  on  the  west  and  eastern 
sides.  The  heat  was  considerable  in  the  pit  of  Halemaumau,  too 
great  for  the  hand  to  bear.  This  pit  was  more  than  five  hun- 
dred feet  deep.  More  than  two-thirds  of  the  old  floor  of  Kilauea 
has  caved  in  and  sunk  from  one  hundred  to  three  hundred  feet 
below  the  level  of  the  remaining  floor,  the  submergence  having 
been  most  prominent  in  the  western  half.  There  was  a  depres- 
sion from  Halemaumau  northwesterly,  when  a  cliff  three  hundred 
feet  high  loomed  through  the  mist.  Surmounting  this,  Dr. 
Hillebrand  found  himself  at  the  brink  of  a  fearful  chasm  several 
hundred  feet  deep,  and  about  half  a  mile  long  from  south  to 
north.  Very  hot  air  rose  from  it.  Changes  in  the  floor  were 
taking  place  constantly. 

Mr.  Coan  thus  describes  the  same  area  as  seen  in  August: 
"The  central  area  of  the  great  crater  had  subsided  about  three 
hundred  feet,  forming  a  new  'Black  Ledge'  of  unequal  width  all 
around  the  crater.  In  some  parts  the  central  depression  left  the 
ledge  a  perpendicular  or  beetling  wall  with  a  serrated  line,  but  in 
most  parts  the  center  sagged  away  gently,  forming  a  large  con- 
cave basin  with  an  angle  of  twenty  to  seventy  degrees.  The  sur- 
face of  this  concave  was  once  the  crowning  or  convex  portion  of 
the  crater,  where  ferns  and  ohelo  bushes  had  been  growing  for 
nearly  twenty  years.  The  superincumbent  plateau  has  been  de- 
pressed so  quietly  that  the  surface  is  very  little  disturbed,  and 
the  ferns  and  ohelo  bushes  are  still  growing  in  the  basin  three 
hundred  feet  below  their  position  on  the  first  of  April.  Some 


211 

parts,  however,  of  this  great  area  have  been  covered  with  fresh 
lava,  and  some  ferns  have  been  killed  by  heat  and  gases. 

"From  the  Black  Ledge  I  passed  down  and  across  this  depres- 
sion (about  a  mile)  and  then  up  the  ascent  on  the  other  side  for 
half  a  mile  to  the  rim  of  Halemaumau.  This  is  all  changed ;  it 
has  gone  down  some  five  hundred  feet  below  the  highest  point  on 
the  Black  Ledge,  and  about  two  hundred  feet  below  the  depres- 
sion in  the  basin  above  mentioned.  The  walls  have  fallen  on  all 
sides,  and  the  pit  resembles  a  vast  funnel,  half  a  mile  in  dameter 
at  the  top  and  about  1,500  feet  across  the  bottom.  There  are  two 
places  where  visitors  can  descend  into  this  great  pit,  with  some 
difficulty  and  risk.  Much  of  the  time,  this  pit  is  filled  with 
smoke  and  sulphurous  gases,  with  little  visible  fire;  occasionally, 
however,  detonations  and  fiery  demonstrations  occur  in  this  awful. 

pit." 

By  comparing  maps  and  notes  it  is  possible  to  outline  the  area: 
and  dimensions  of  the  lower  pit  created  by  the  breakdown  of 
April  2-5.  More  than  two-thirds  of  the  floor  had  collapsed,  coin- 
ciding approximately  with  the  canals  of  Lyman,  the  ridges  of 
Brigham,  and  later  with  the  depression  mapped  by  Lydgate  in 
1874,  an  area  of  8,000  feet  long,  6,000  feet  wide  in  the  north- 
eastern portion,  narrowing  to  3,000  feet  at  Halemaumau.  The 
depth  was  greatest  at  the  southern  end,  six  hundred  feet,  half  as 
much  in  the  middle  with  sloping  walls.  The  comparison  of  the 
basin  to  a  heavy  pie  crust,  "fallen  in  at  the  middle,  leaving  a  part 
of  the  circumference  bent  down  but  clinging  at  the  outside  of  the 
dish,"  well  describes  its  appearance.  Compared  with  the  break- 
down of  1840  it  will  be  seen  that  the  lava  removed  must  have 
been  about  the  same.  The  black  ledge  had  increased  somewhat 
in  altitude  between  the  two  dates,  at  least  fifty,  perhaps  one  hun- 
dred, feet.  The  task  now  set  before  the  volcano  for  the  next 
eighteen  years,  1868-1886,  is  first  to  rebuild  the  mound  of  Hale- 
maumau to  a  level  with  the  black  ledge,  and  then  the  filling  of  the 
basin  so  as  to  cover  the  entire  floor. 

It  is  stated  by  Mr.  Nordhoff  that  just  before  the  earthquake  of 
April  2d,  streams  of  lava  oozed  out  through  the  crevices  in  the 
depressed  area  between  Kilauea  and  Kilauea  iki.  The  evidence 
of  a  lava  flow  is  afforded  by  the  adherence  of  lava  to  the  trees, 
perhaps  fifteen  feet  above  the  original  surface.  These  were  visible 
in  1886,  and  a  photographic  representation  of  the  trees  thus  en- 
crusted is  presented  in  Plate  32.  These  incrustations  may  have 
been  only  a  few  clots  thrown  out  from  the  opening. 

The  line  of  the  fissure  near  Kilauea  iki  runs  N.  60°  W.  by 
compass  in  1905.  Between  one  and  two  hundred  feet  above  the 


212 

floor  is  a  wide  fissure  lined  with  clinker  or  scoria,  very  fresh,  of 
both  bright  red  and  black  colors,  the  same  material  constituting 
the  driblet  cones.  From  this  fissure  there  was  a  discharge  of  a 
considerable  stream  of  ordinary  aa  and  pahoehoe  down  to  the 
lowest  level  through  the  forest.  It  is  easy  to  distinguish  between 
the  flows  of  1832  and  1868  by  the  presence  of  some  vegetation  on 
the  earlier  discharge.  The  specimens  of  clinkers  are  very  mucH 
like  those  seen  in  the  rent  at  Kahuku  which  came  out  at  the  same 
time,  except  that  the  latter  contain  a  considerable  green  olivine. 

KLLAUEA  FROM  1868  TO  1879. 

After  the  great  disturbance  of  1868,  the  volcano  seemed  to  take 
a  rest. 

Nov.  6,  1868.  D.  H.  Hitchcock  wrote  that  a  chain  of  lakes 
had  formed  around  the  pit.  Since  the  earthquake  the  whole  cen- 
tral part  had  sunken  three  hundred  feet.  The  greater  part  of 
Halemaumau  had  fallen  into  the  South  lake,  which  is  more  than 
five  times  larger  than  in  December,  1867.  The  high  ridge  of 
rocks  has  disappeared.  The  fire  is  entirely  confined  to  the  South 
lake.  The  center  of  the  pit  is  now  lower  than  the  South  lake,  and 
will  evidently  receive  the  lavas  flowing  from  the  higher  level. 
The  great  chasm  about  the  border  was  not  found  till  several  days 
after  the  earthquake.  For  three  weeks  the  action  at  the  South 
lake  has  been  increasing.  It  was  two  hundred  and  fifty  feet  deep 
at  first,  and  is  now  only  one  hundred  feet  deep  and  it  continued 
to  fill  for  three  weeks  longer  (Nov.  26).  Four  earthquake 
shocks  were  also  noted  at  this  time. 

In  July,  1869,  Mr.  Coan  states  that  the  great  lake  was  so  cool 
on  the  surface  that  he  was  able  to  measure  its  dimensions  without 
difficulty.  It  was  five-sixths  of  a  mile  wide  at  the  bottom  four 
hundred  feet  below  the  rim,  and  more  than  a  mile  in  length  from 
north  to  south  at  the  top.  The  lava  was  still  molten  fifty  to 
one  hundred  feet  below  the  surface,  as  seen  in  deep  fissures. 

Sept.  8,  1869,  Prof.  J.  D.  Butler  saw  nine  cones  in  the  south 
lake. 

Sept.  13,  George  Jones  of  Kahuku  spoke  of  lava  flowing  from 
these  cones.  There  were  two  earthquake  shocks  on  the  I3th 
and  five  the  next  day. 

Nov.  9  Kilauea  was  visited  by  H.  Bingham  2d.  He  mentions 
the  South  lake,  North  lake  and  a  third  in  the  southeast  section  of 
the  pit.  There  was  no  visible  flowing  lava,  but  stones  thrown 
into  the  chasms  from  seventy-five  to  one  hundred  feet  down 
splashed  into  a  liquid  mass. 


2I3 

Jan.  10,  1870.  D.  H.  Hitchcock  reports  the  South  lake  nearly 
solid  with  a  little  fire.  The  center  of  the  pit  seems  to  be  sinking, 
and  is  below  the  level  of  the  South  lake.  Pele  has  not  yet  re- 
covered from  the  effects  of  the  agitation  of  1868. 

Feb.  2.  Kilauea  very  active ;  several  lakes  opened.  Mrs.  S.  J. 
Lyman. 

Judge  Kaina  is  quoted  as  saying  that  the  south  lake  overflowed 
on  Feb.  19,  1870,  for  the  first  time  since  1868,  and  ran  mauka  for 
fifty  feet.  March  6  the  flow  was  rather  quiet. 

March  28.  South  lake  filled  up.  It  is  one  level  mass  beneath 
which  fire  is  visible. 

April  26-28.  D.  H.  Hitchcock  reports  the  filling  up  of  South 
lake  ,around  which  a  mound  is  forming.  Lava  is  flowing  into 
the  deep  basin  northward. 

June  4.     Crater  quite  lively.     Ten  cones  in  action. 

July  22.  Fresh  lava  from  which  impressions  of  coins  were  ob- 
tained. 

Aug.  22.     Crater  rather  inactive.     J.  H.  Coney. 

Oct.  5.  Noise  like  report  of  cannon.  One  lake  formed  where 
there  had  been  three.  Of  these  the  South  lake  was  the  largest. 
Severe  earthquake  coincident.  There  was  boiling  and  surging 
for  five  minutes  after  which  quietness  ensued.  Lakes  not  well 
shown  because  they  were  so  low  down. 

March  20-29,  1871.  Dense  clouds ;  no  fire  except  deep  down  in 
crevices. 

April  13.  Halemaumau  being  built  up,  forming  a  dome  as  in 
1857.  General  level  of  South  lake  about  up  to  that  of  the  main 
crater.  Little  fire  but  dense  smoke.  D.  H.  Hitchcock. 

July  6.     Nothing  but  smoke  to  be  seen.     E.  Bailey. 

Sept.  13.     No  fire.     Miss  M.  A.  Chamberlain. 

In  1871,  Mr.  Coan  says  there  had  been  discharges  that  filled 
the  central  basin  to  the  depth  of  fifty  feet  and  also  flowed  two 
miles  northerly  since  his  report  of  1869.  In  August  Halemau- 
mau had  again  become  empty,  but  a  year  later  it  was  full  again 
and  discharged  into  the  basin  of  1868. 

Jan.  n,  1872.  D.  H.  Hitchcock  says  that  the  main  pit  has  been 
overflowed  from  the  South  lake,  a  descent  of  two  hundred  and 
fifty  feet.  There  are  three  larger  cones  in  this  lake,  which  are 
about  seventy-five  feet  lower  than  the  summit  of  Halemaumau. 
There  are  deep  pits  with  these  lakes.  Fire  is  being  concentrated 
in  the  vicinity  of  where  the  South  lake  has  been. 

March  i,  1872.  Kilauea  visited  by  Clarence  King  and  A. 
Hague.  King  says :  "A  fluid  stream  of  basalt  overflowed  from 
the  molten  lake  at  the  south  end  of  the  crater  and  flowed  north- 


214 

ward  along  the  level  basaltic  floor  of  the  pit.  Numerous  little 
branchlets  spurted  from  the  sides  of  the  flow  *  *  *  and  then 
congealed.  I  repeatedly  broke  these  small  branch  streams  and  ex- 
amined their  section.  In  every  case  the  bottom  of  the  flow 
was  thickly  crowded  with  triclinic  feldspars  and  augites;  while 
the  whole  upper  flow  was  nearly  pure  isotropic  and  acid  glass." 
Charles  Darwin  had  previously  made  a  similar  statement  about  the 
development  of  minerals  in  the  lower  portions  of  volcanic  flows. 

March  20.  J.  Kavanagh.  Quiet  for  six  months.  Four  fis- 
sures have  opened  in  which  there  is  fire,  which  occasionally  spurts 
out. 

April  26.  F.  C.  Autridge.  Seven  cones  pouring  forth  smoke ; 
their  interior  a  vast  gulf  of  fire.  Stalactites  hang  from  the  roof 
of  the  dome. 

Aug.  4.  Visit  of  Samuel  Kneeland.  Feels  rewarded  for  the 
exertions  made  to  come  so  far,  the  volcano  being  moderately 
active. 

August,  1872.  A  year  earlier  Halemaumau  was  a  deep  cavity, 
but  had  filled  up  and  is  now  overflowing  into  the  basin  of  1868. 
T.  Coan. 

Oct.  21.  D.  H.  Hitchcock  says  Halemaumau  is  like  what  it 
was  from  1845  to  1868,  an  immense  dome  six  hundred  feet  higher 
than  the  center  of  the  pit,  equalling  in  altitude  the  bordering  black 
ledges.  On  its  summit  are  the  two  lakes  from  which  lava  streams 
down  in  various  directions.  Nothing  is  left  of  the  high  banks 
surrounding  the  old  south  lake. 

Nov.  26.  W.  P.  Ragsdale  says  lava  has  been  flowing  to  the 
foot  of  the  west  bank,  (Uwekahuna),  and  is  now  proceeding  from 
the  south  lake  in  a  covered  canal  towards  the  north  end.  Pours 
over  the  bank  in  a  cataract  of  fire. 

Dec.  11-16.     Grand  flows;  unusually  fine. 

March  3d,  1873,  Mr.  Nordhoff  reports  that  the  great  lake  had 
been  divided  by  a  low  ledge  of  lava  into  two  parts ;  each  body 
having  a  diameter  of  five  hundred  feet,  circular,  separated  by  a 
low  lying  ridge,  and  the  two  together  surrounded  by  a  wall  eighty 
feet  high.  The  surface  of  the  first  lake  had  a  gray  color.  Molten 
lava  was  repelled  from  the  borders  to  the  center,  then  flinging 
aloft  fiery  waves  as  much  as  thirty  feet,  followed  by  a  hissing 
sound.  Fiery  rings  were  constantly  being  pushed  towards  the 
center,  piling  up  lava  fifteen  feet  above  the  general  level.  The 
second  lake  was  agitated  more  violently,  spending  its  fury  upon 
the  southern  bank.  The  cliff  was  undermined  for  one  hundred 
and  fifty  feet  from  which  the  waves  were  repelled  with  a  dull 
heavy  roar.  The  word  terrible  best  represented  the  character  of 


PLATE  33. 


THE  CRATE  ROT 

KILAUEA 

HAWAII 
ttjj 


Map  of  Kilauea,    1874. 


215 

the  agitation.  The  heat  back  of  the  bank  was  almost  insup- 
portable: a  hot  draught  came  from  the  cracks  behind,  charged 
with  sulphur.  Still  farther  back  were  several  cones.  These  com- 
menced as  small  vents  through  which  lava  is  ejected  and  by  a 
secretion  built  up  pipes  twenty  to  thirty  feet  long,  open  at  the  top 
and  ruined  by  violent  explosions.  Inside  was  the  molten  lava, 
and  stalactites  yet  in  the  formative  stage  waved  in  the  wind.  The 
cooled  surface  was  extremely  thin. 

In  January,  1874,  Miss  Isabella  L.  Bird,  represented  that  the 
lake  had  an  irregular  shape  five  hundred  feet  long,  divided  in  two, 
with  banks  thirty-five  to  forty  feet  high.  June  4th  the  rock  about 
the  lake  has  risen  much,  and  the  precipitous  walls  were  thought 
to  be  eighty  feet  high.  Six  hundred  feet  from  the  lake  there  was 
a  blowing  cone,  like  a  beehive,  twelve  feet  high,  forty  feet  deep 
inside,  with  walls  two  feet  thick.  It  was  throwing  up  jets  and 
clots  of  lava  with  a  deafening  roar  and  subterranean  noises. 
Halemaumau  was  on  a  hilltop.  Eleven  fire  fountains  danced 
around  the  lake,  half  of  them  combining  into  one  thirty  feet  high 
at  the  center.  A  cone  lower  down  discharged  lava  intermittently. 
The  same  month,  Mr.  J.  M.  Lydgate  presented  a  rough  sketch  of 
the  caldera  to  the  Government  Survey,  from  which  is  derived  the 
restoration  presented  in  Plate  33.  The  two  lakes  of  the  previ- 
ous observers  appear — and  the  area  of  the  lower  pit  formed  in 
1868  well  shown.  The  black  ledge  was  quite  extensive  and  prob- 
ably at  the  same  level  as  in  1868. 

July  8.  D.  H.  Hitchcock  says  the  crater  is  filling  up  with 
fresh  lava,  but  the  floor  is  sinking  more  and  more  as  a  whole. 
Halemaumau  has  half  the  height  of  the  lower  or  southern  lake. 
Two  earthquake  shocks  were  recorded  for  July  10. 

Sept.  3.  R.  Whitman  and  B.  F.  Dillingham  saw  the  south  lake 
moderately  active. 

Sept.  10.  Lava  broke  through  the  crust  in  the  eastern  edge  of 
the  basin  and  flowed  rapidly  westward,  spreading  over  several 
acres.  It  was  all  done  in  two  hours.  C.  E.  Stackpole. 

Early  in  October  Mr.  Coan  states  that  the  lower  pit  of  1868 
had  been  filled  up  about  two  hundred  feet,  and  the  mass  about 
Halemaumau  had  "become  a  tumulated  elevation  nearly  as  high 
as  the  southern  brim  of  the  crater."  In  December  Mr.  J.  W. 
Nicols  of  the  British  Transit  of  Venus  Expedition  reports  sev- 
eral important  features.  There  were  four  lava  lakes,  the  largest 
six  hundred  feet  long,  in  which  seven  or  eight  fountains  were 
playing  near  the  edges.  One  of  the  lakes  filled  to  the  brim,  while 
the  others  were  surrounded  by  walls.  The  cone  about  the  whole 
area  was  about  seventy  feet  high. 


216 

Dec.  8,  1874.  H.  M.  Whitney  draws  a  rough  plan  of  the  lakes 
with  a  new  nomenclature,  which  was  adhered  to  for  some  time. 
The  more  southern  lake  was  called  Halemaumau,  three  hundred 
feet  across.  Eight  hundred  feet  to  the  north  was  Lake  Kilauea, 
five  to  six  hundred  feet  long  and  three  hundred  across.  The 
larger  diameter  of  the  depression  was  about  five  hundred  feet. 
Adjacent  to  Halemaumau  there  had  been  a  third  lake,  active  two 
years  earlier,  but  now  closed  up.  The  height  of  the  north  wall 
was  one  hundred  and  twenty  feet. 

Feb.  2,  1875.  F.  J.  Scott  draws  a  similar  plan,  and  witnessed 
a  great  gush  from  Lake  Kilauea. 

Feb.  19.  W  .D.  Alexander  saw  action  in  Lakes  Halemaumau 
and  Kilauea. 

Feb.  26.  Prof.  Joseph  Moore  of  Richmond,  Indiana,  said  that 
Halemaumau  was  full  and  overflowing :  and  there  were  four  lakes 
in  action. 

Aug.  7.     There  were  two  severe  earthquake  shocks. 

A  party  from  the  English  Challenger  Expedition  report  the 
lakes  Halemaumau  and  Kilauea  as  unusually  active.  There  were 
five  jets  playing  in  the  first,  and  the  same  number  of  inferior 
importance  in  the  second.  The  lava  rose  and  then  subsided  in 
the  first.  A  small  cone  between  the  two  blows  jets  of  lava  from 
thirty-five  to  forty  feet.  A  lava  cascade  poured  to  the  northeast 
of  the  second  lake.  Spectroscopic  observations  gave  a  continu- 
ous spectrum,  the  red  being  the  brightest  and  an  occasional  flame 
in  the  green.  Magnetic  observations  proved  the  presence  of  con- 
siderable iron. 

Sept.  3.     More  active  than  for  a  long  time. 

Sept.  6.  W.  M.  Gibson  writes  that  Lake  Kilauea  had  risen 
about  ninety  feet.  Streams  flowed  from  Halemaumau  and 
Kilauea-iki  into  Lake  Kilauea;  also  to  the  southeast.  He  could 
see  from  the  Volcano  House  lava  jets  leaping  above  the  banks ;  so 
that  the  lava  must  have  risen  a  hundred  feet  during  his  visit. 

Jan.  14,  1876.  Lake  Kilauea  sent  forth  a  broad  stream  into  the 
caldera  for  four  hours. 

Feb.  22.     Both  lakes  in  full  activity.     A.  O.  Forbes. 

April  20.  Cascade  of  lava  into  a  pit  seventy-five  feet  to  the 
south  of  lake.  River  from  below  cliff;  both  streams  of  short 
duration. 

May  2.  D.  H.  Hitchcock.  Halemaumau  has  built  itself  up 
two  hundred  feet  in  one  year.  Lava  from  the  south  lake  has  al- 
most filled  up  the  great  central  depression.  Six  streams  running 
down  Halemaumau  all  night. 


217 

July  9.  Lava  streams  running  four  miles  per  hour.  T.  K. 
Noble. 

Aug.  25.  E.  H.  Butler  of  Hobart,  Tasmania,  and  others. 
Lakes  full  to  overflowing,  covering  fifty  acres  on  the  west  side. 
Waves  of  fire  continually  leaping  twenty-five  feet  into  the  air. 

Jan.  i,  1877.  W.  P.  Toler  compares  present  conditions  with 
those  prevailing  in  1843  and  1845.  Then  the  bottom  was  four 
hundred  feet  lower  than  it  is  now.  Then  the  lake  was  ten  to 
fifteen  feet  below  its  banks ;  now  it  is  depressed  for  two  hundred 
feet  in  a  cone  that  is  one  hundred  and  eighty  feet  high.  Then  the 
activity  was  in  the  lakes ;  now  the  lava  flows  over  a  hardened 
surface.  Then  there  was  only  one  lake;  now  there  is  a  depres- 
sion of  two  hundred  feet  where  a  second  one  has  existed,  though 
now  extinct.  Much  rock  has  fallen  from  the  high  cliffs.  He  can 
now  read  newspapers  by  the  light  of  the  fires,  upon  the  north 
bank. 

May  4.  Large  party  found  "more  activity  than  has  been  seen 
since  1868."  Nineteen  earthquake  shocks  during  the  evening. 
Plenty  of  subterranean  fire  and  some  flowing  lava. 

May  6.  S.  B.  Dole  reports  the  formation  of  a  fissure  extend- 
ing from  the  floor  through  the  bank  and  into  the  woods  beyond, 
just  before  his  arrival.  Lava  spouted  from  this  crevice  fifty  to 
one  hundred  and  fifty  feet  into  the  air.  Halemaumau  drained. 
Estimated  depth  of  hole  at  two  hundred  and  fifty  feet. 

May  8.  H.  M.  Whitney  finds  this  opening  and  gathered 
tresses  of  Pele's  hair  twenty  inches  long. 

May  21.  T.  E.  Cook  found  a  place  one  and  a  half  miles  south- 
east from  the  Volcano  House,  where  lava  had  come  out  of  a 
crevice  some  two  hundred  feet  below  the  top.  These  last  three 
observations  may  point  to  Keanakakoi.  Pea  Wilkes,  with  his 
father,  witnessed  an  eruption  at  Keanakakoi  in  1877,  which  may 
be  the  same  with  that  mentioned  by  Mr.  Cook.  The  whole  floor 
was  a  bubbling,  boiling  mass  sending  surges  from  side  to  side. 
The  heat  was  so  great  that  they  could  approach  it  only  on  the 
windward  side. 

Aug.  2.  Lava  rose  thirty-five  feet  in  the  south  lake  in  a  few 
days. 

Sept.  4.  E.  O.  Hall  thinks  the  floor  is  five  hundred  to  six  hun- 
dred feet  higher  than  in  1837. 

Sept.  8.     Bottom  of  South  lake  fell  fifty  feet.     W.  H.  Lentz. 

Oct.  2.     Crater  active.     H.  M.  Whitney. 

Oct.  9.  Rev.  W.  P.  Alexander  says :  "I  visited  this  volcano 
forty-five  years  ago.  It  was  much  more  active  then  than  now." 


218 

Dec.  21.  Overflow  witnessed.  Fountains  on  the  north  side  of 
Halemaumau  three  days  later. 

Jan.  i,  1878.     Volcano  very  active.     W.  H.  Lentz. 

Jan.  1 8.  Curtis  J.  Lyons  calculated  altitudes  with  an  aneroid 
barometer.  Foot  of  the  road  down  to  the  crater  and  level  of 
Halemaumau  five  hundred  and  three  hundred  and  fifty  feet  be- 
low Volcano  House.  Height  of  Uwekehuna  six  hundred  and 
fifty  feet  above  its  base.  Halemaumau  four  hundred  feet  long, 
one  hundred  feet  wide.  Lake  Kilauea  not  approachable.  Ex- 
tensive flows  of  lava  from  it  on  the  north  side  running  N.  N.  E. 
for  three-fourths  of  a  mile.  Present  height  of  cone  estimated  at 
one  hundred  and  seventy-five  feet. 

June  8.  Two  flows  between  the  old  north  and  the  present  south 
lake. 

June  28.  Rev.  L.  H.  Hallock.  "A  surging  mass  of  lava, 
dashing  like  surf  against  the  walls  of  Halemaumau  and  throwing 
gory  clots  high  over  the  ledges,  with  Pele's  hair  streaming  in  the 
whiffs  of  rising  gas,  accompanied  by  a  roaring  like  that  of  the 
sea,  was  the  never-to-be-forgotten  experience  of  our  day  at  the 
volcano." 

Sept.  20.  J.  Mott  Smith.  "In  my  former  visits,  1851,  1856, 
1862,  I  saw  no  display  of  fire  to  compare  with  what  is  now  seen. 
The  floor  of  crater  much  changed  and  elevated.  Whole  floor  is 
in  constant  motion  rising  and  subsiding  by  turns." 

Nov.  24.  Very  active;  lava  within  twelve  feet  of  the  top  of 
the  bank. 

Jan.  7,  1879.  H.  M.  Whitney.  Two  lakes  now  as  formerly, 
lava  nearly  up  to  the  brim  but  not  overflowing;  lava  breaks  out 
on  the  sides  and  fills  up  the  center.  By  night  fires  seen  in  every 
part  of  the  crater.  Some  parts  of  the  hill  surrounding  south  lake 
as  high  as  the  south  wall  of  Kilauea. 

Jan.  8.  Wm.  Gardner.  South  lake  with  lava  fifty  feet  below 
the  rim  and  boiling  like  water. 

There  was  at  this  time  one  large  lake  enclosed  by  a  crag  wall 
twenty  feet  above  the  fire.  These  crags  increased  till  April,  be- 
coming four  hundred  and  fifty  feet  high.  Fire  now  less  than 
forty  feet  from  the  top.  Lentz  said  to  have  counted  three  hun- 
dred and  seventeen  different  points  from  which  fire  was  bursting 
at  one  time.  Reported  by  Miss  C.  F.  Gordon  Gumming. 

The  eruption  came  April  21.  The  bottom  dropped  out  on  this 
date.  W.  H.  Lentz. 

Dr.  Coan,  in  a  letter  of  June  20,  said  that  the  lake,  which  had 
been  overflowing  its  banks  and  whose  rim  had  been  raised  till  it 
was  nearly  as  high  as  the  outer  wall,  was  suddenly  emptied  by  an 


219 

underground  discharge  and  subsided  several  hundred  feet,  leav- 
ing nothing  but  a  "smoking  basin." 

April  28.     Almost  extinct ;  some  vapors.     A.  O.  Forbes. 

The  fire  returned  very  soon.  June  24  W.  H.  Lentz  states  that 
both  lakes  were  active;  jets  of  lava,  appearing  like  a  fountain  of 
fire  from  the  Volcano  House  were  thrown  up.  William  Tregloan 
writes  that  on  July  2d  the  two  lakes  had  become  one,  of  enormous 
size,  throwing  lava  to  the  height  of  fifty  feet.  July  14,  Lentz  re- 
ports a  flow  of  lava  extending  over  one-eighth  of  the  entire  bot- 
tom. The  sulphur  banks  on  the  southeast  side  caught  fire.  A 
large  part  of  the  bank  of  south  lake  fell  in.  The  bottom  of  Keana- 
kakoi  is  covered  by  a  smooth  black  lava,  very  fresh  looking,  which 
is  supposed  to  have  been  ejected  at  about  this  time.  The  faulted 
block  let  down  upon  the  northern  side  of  this  pit  must  have 
reached  its  present  position  at  an  earlier  date. 

In  October,  Miss  C.  F.  Gordon  Cummings  visited  Kilauea.  She 
represented  that  after  the  discharge  of  April  21  a  wall  of  blocks 
or  crags  rose  around  Halemaumau  to  the  height  of  three  hundred 
and  sixty  to  four  hundred  feet.  October  27  there  were  fiery 
waves  tossing  over  this  lake.  Two  days  later  she  climbed  "six 
hundred  feet"  of  these  rough  blocks  and  was  disappointed  at  not 
seeing  much  liquid  lava,  though  fire  was  visible  in  the  inside  cup, 
and  fountains  shot  out  horizontally  from  the  base  of  the  crags. 
She  figures  several  large  spiracles  in  the  midst  of  the  lakes. 

Dec.  2.  H.  G.  Kelley  could  find  no  flowing  lava.  Long  sticks 
thrust  down  in  crevices  would  ignite. 

Jan.  5,  1880.  T.  J.  Kinnear  figures  a  lava  lake  on  the  edge  of  a 
bench  with  a  pile  of  old  lava  below.  Fire  flowed  in  a  succes- 
sion of  waves  across  the  entire  lake. 

April  i.     Crater  not  very  active. 

April  23.  A.  G.  Low.  Lava  flowing  to  thickness  of  two  or 
three  feet. 

May  1 8.  J.  M.  Alexander  saw  Halemaumau  four  hundred  feet 
broad  throwing  lava  seventy-five  feet  high,  while  south  lake  and 
a  new  lake  were  forming.  The  path  taken  became  impassable  by 
fumes  of  vapors. 

June  28.     First  visit  of  L.  A.  Thurston. 

THE  CONDITIONS  OF  1880. 

By  May,  1880,  according  to  Mr.  Coan,  Halemaumau  had  be- 
come a  boiling  lake  discharging  copious  streams  into  the  great 
central  basin.  In  July,  -Professor  W.  T.  Brigham  paid  another 
visit  to  the  volcano.  He  considered  that  during  the  previous 
eighteen  years  Kilauea  must  have  increased  five  per  cent,  in  its 


22O 

lateral  dimensions.  The  floor  where  first  trod  upon  was  six 
hundred  and  fifty  feet  below  the  Volcano  House  and  the  central 
portion  three  hundred  feet;  or,  in  other  words,  the  floor  was 
raised  as  a  flat  dome  three  hundred  and  fifty  feet  high,  which  had 
accumulated  partly  by  the  natural  building  up  by  accretion  and 
partly  by  an  irregular  elevation.  Halemaumau  had  now  become 
a  regular  dome  surmounted  by  four  lakes  having  an  average  dia- 
meter of  1,000  feet  each.  The  lake  of  1865  seemed  to  have  lain  in 
the  midst  of  these  four  lakes,  no  one  of  them  by  itself  reproduced 
from  its  progenitor.  The  latest  one  began  to  form  May  I5th  and 
its  bank  was  nearly  on  a  level  with  the  surrounding  rock.  The 
others  had  stratified  walls,  sometimes  an  hundred  feet  high,  from 
which  blocks  were  constantly  falling  because  of  the  undermining 
action  of  the  lava  beneath.  As  seen  at  night  these  molten  lavas 
were  white  hot.  In  earlier  visits  blue  and  green  flames  were  ob- 
served, seldom  lasting  more  than  a  few  minutes.  Now  the  flames 
issuing  from  a  cluster  of  blow  holes  burned  constantly  with  these 
colors,  the  time  of  continuance  exceeding  twelve  hours.  Very 
little  steam  was  thrown  off  at  this  time.  The  southern  sulphur 
bank  had  wholly  disappeared,  having  been  consumed  by  a  fire 
occurring  a  few  months  earlier. 

Sept.  18.  The  "New"  lake,  starting  in  May,  increased  to  the 
circumference  of  3,000  feet  with  sides  from  fifty  to  sixty  feet  high. 

Sept.  25.      Severe  shock  of  earthquake.     Lentz. 

Oct.  27.  New  lake  said  to  be  one  hundred  and  eighty  to  two 
hundred  feet  below  top  of  its  banks.  Both  lakes  quite  active. 
L.  P.  Tenney. 

Nov.  4.  W.  Bolsea  describes  three  lakes.  Lava  flowing  on 
north  side  of  Lake  Kilauea  crowded  into  very  small  dimensions. 
Halemaumau  remains  as  it  was  eighteen  months  previous,  but  is 
inaccessible.  The  special  seat  of  activity  is  a  new  lake  to  the 
southeast  not  far  away  from  Halemaumau.  Activity  vigorous 
but  not  violent.  No  apparent  sympathy  between  the  two  lakes. 

Dec.  7.  J.  M.  Lydgate  finds  Volcano  House  4,021  feet  above 
the  sea  by  syphon  barometer. 

Feb.   15,   1881.      Fountain  of  lava  streamed  up  northwest  of 
rough  pile  and  spread  lava  over  much  of  the  floor. 
Feb.  20.     New  lake  very  active. 

July  20.  Four  lakes  visited,  viz.,  Halemaumau,  New  Lake, 
Old  Lake  and  South  Lake.  New  Lake  specially  interesting. 
Lava  in  it  rose  and  fell  twenty  feet.  A. bright  red  spot  appeared 
in  the  farther  corner,  the  crust  cracked,  red  lines  of  lava  appeared, 
pieces  of  the  crust  thirty  feet  long  sank  beneath  the  surface  and 


221 

the  whole  mass  was  boiling.  W.  W.  Hall,  Miss  H.  S.  Norton 
and  others. 

Aug.  2.  Flow  of  lava  from  New  Lake.  The  same  from  Hale- 
maumau  Aug.  5. 

Aug.  15.  N.  B.  Emerson  reports  activity  in  New  Lake.  Foun- 
tains thirty  to  forty  feet  high;  waves  dashing  against  cliffs; 
tables  of  black  lava  drawn  into  the  settling  vortices. 

Aug.  19.  New  Lake  has  become  the  "show"  crater.  Much  the 
same  as  when  last  described. 

Oct.  25.  T.  H.  Davies.  Surface  of  New  Lake  always  agi- 
tated. Nine  caldrons  splashing  twenty  feet  high.  Halemaumau 
has  more  jets.  A  pit  of  fire  also  to  the  right.  Considerable  flow 
of  lava. 

Jan.  16,  1882.  S.  C.  Damon  had  a  grand  view  of  the  breaking 
up  of  New  Lake. 

March  7.     Lakes  break  up  both  in  day  and  night  time. 

March  30.      Additional  lava  poured  into  lakes. 

May  30.     Both  lakes  active. 

CAPTAIN  BUTTON'S  VISIT  IN  1882. 

A  very  complete  and  satisfactory  account  of  Kilauea  is  that 
given  by  Captain  Clarence  E.  Dutton  in  the  Fourth  Annual  Re- 
port of  the  United  States  Geological  Survey  and  the  attempt  will 
be  made  to  present  its  most  important  points.  He  applies  to  the 
volcano  with  some  hesitation  the  term  Caldera,43  which  is  equally 
appropriate  for  Mokuaweoweo,  Haleakala  and  other  Hawaiian  ex- 
amples. It  is  what  Wilkes,  and  after  him  D'ana,  calls  a  pit- 
crater.  Geikie  uses  caldera  to  signify  explosion-craters  and 
crater  lakes,  citing  as  examples  Palma  in  the  Canary  Islands, 
Val  del  Bove  in  Etna,  eleven  illustrations  in  Ecuador,  the  crater- 

43  On  referrng  to  Lyell 's  Elements  of  Geology,  1865,  one  may  learn  why 
the  term  Caldera  began  >to  be  used.  Lyell  describes  the  volcano  upon 
the  island  of  Palma  called  "La  Caldera/'  Within  it  is  a  bowl-shaped 
cavity  from  three  to  four  miles  in  diameter,  encircled  by  a  precipice 
from  1,500  to  2,000  feet  high.  Upon  one  side  a  breach  has  been  effected 
where  there  is  a  descent  of  two  thousand  feet  from  the  center  of  the 
Caldera  to  the  sea.  The  layers  of  volcanic  rocks  dip  quaquaversally 
outwards,  usually  at  a  small  angle  but  in  some  places  as  much  as  forty 
degrees.  Von  Buch  had  spoken  of  this  volcano  as  a  cone  of  elevation. 
Lyell  prefers  to  apply  to  it  the  theory  of  engulfment  and  speaks  definitely 
of  a  Caldera  as  a  type  of  volcano,  to  which  are  also  referred  the  Val 
del  Bove"  of  Etna,  and  one  in  Java,  p.  621.  Lyell  therefore  preceded 
Dutton  in  the  use  of  the  term  Caldera,  but  both  agreed  as  to  its  signifi- 
cance. Early  authors  have  referred  these  and  others  to  crater  rings; 
such  as  the  Somma  about  Vesuvius,  Bourbon,  a  circle  four  miles  in  dia- 
meter, and  Teneriffe.  The  supposed  original  Krakatoa  belongs  to  this 
category. 


222 

lake  Mazama  in  Oregon,  and  others.  The  origin  of  Kilauea  is 
not  so  clearly  a  case  of  explosion  as  in  the  other  cases  cited.  But- 
ton, however,  does  not  enter  into  the  discussion  of  the  origin  of 
the  caldera.  Plate  34  is  a  copy  of  a  panorama  presented  in  his 
report. 

Starting  from  the  Volcano  House  the  path  leads  over  a  series 
of  steps  that  have  been  faulted  off  from  the  main  platform  of  the 
country.  On  reaching  the  bottom  the  way  leads  over  freshly 
formed  pahoehoe,  rolling  smooth-surfaced  bosses,  not  much  in- 
clined, but  at  about  one  and  three-fourths  miles  the  slope  is  much 
steeper  for  about  one  hundred  feet.  Reaching  the  summit  he 
came  to  the  "New  Lake,"  said  to  have  appeared  first  in  May, 
1 88 1,  being  about  four  hundred  and  eighty  feet  l:ng  and  over 
three  hundred  wide,  surrounded  by  walls  fifteen  to  twenty  feet 
in  height. 

"When  we  first  reach  it  the  probabilities  are  that  the  surface 
of  the  lake  is  coated  over  with  a  black,  solidified  crust,  showing 
a  rim  of  fire  all  around  the  edge.  At  numerous  points  at  the  edge 
of  the  crust  jets  of  fire  are  seen  spouting  upwards,  throwing  up  a 
spray  of  glowing  lava  drops  and  emitting  a  dull  simmering  sound. 
The  heat  for  the  time  being  is  not  intense.  Now  and  then  a  foun- 
tain breaks  out  in  the  middle  of  the  lake  and  boils  freely  for  a 
few  minutes.  It  then  becomes  quiet,  but  only  to  renew  the  opera- 
tion at  some  other  point.  Gradually  the  spurting  and  fretting 
at  the  edges  augment.  A  belch  of  lava  is  thrown  up  here  and 
there  to  the  height  of  five  or  six  feet  and  falls  back  upon  the 
crust.  Presently,  and  near  the  edge,  a  cake  of  the  crust  cracks 
off,  and  one  edge  of  it  bending  downwards  descends  beneath  the 
lava,  and  the  whole  cake  disappears,  disclosing  a  naked  surface 
of  liquid  fire.  Again  it  coats  over  and  turns  black.  This  opera- 
tion is  repeated  edgewise  at  some  other  part  of  the  lake.  Sud- 
denly a  net  work  of  cracks  shoots  through  the  entire  crust.  Piece 
after  piece  of  it  turns  its  edge  downward  and  sinks  with  a  grand 
commotion,  leaving  the  whole  pool  a  single  expanse  of  liquid  lava. 
The  heat  is  now  insupportable,  and  for  a  time  it  is  necessary  to 
withdraw  from  the  immediate  brink.  Gradually  the  surface 
darkens  with  the  formation  of  a  new  crust,  which  grows  blacker 
and  blacker  until  the  last  ray  of  incandescence  disappears.  This 
alternation  of  the  freezing  of  the  surface  of  the  lake  and  the 
break  up  and  sinking  of  the  crust  goes  on  in  a  continuous  round, 
with  an  approach  to  a  regular  period  of  about  two  hours.  The 
interval  between  the  break-ups  varies,  so  far  as  observed,  from 
forty  minutes  to  two  hours  and  a  quarter.  Probably  the  average 
interval  is  somewhat  less  than  two  hours.  The  explanation  of 
the  phenomenon  is  not  difficult." 


223 

The  following  is  an  abstract  of  the  text :  Melted  silicates  oc- 
clude notable  quantities  of  water  and  when  they  solidify  they 
exclude  the  water  just  as  water  itself  excludes  air  in  freezing. 
The  excluded  gases  are  mechanically  entangled  as  bubbles  whicii 
are  numerous  enough  to  diminish  the  density.  The  first  inch  or 
two  of  crust  which  forms  is  cooled  quickly  and  becomes  stiff  and 
black  in  a  -few  minutes  and  is  termed  tachylite.  Being  full  of 
vescicles  and  spongy  it  is  light  enough  to  float.  Subsequent  ad- 
ditions to  its  thickness  are  made  to  its  under  surface.  These  be- 
come more  and  more  compact  through  the  disingagement  of  the 
gases,  thus  increasing  the  specific  gravity.  When  this  has  con- 
siderably increased  the  position  is  unstable,  and  rupture  once 
started  is  quickly  propagated  through  the  entire  crust,  whicii  goes 
to  pieces  and  sinks. 

Less  than  half  a  mile  northerly  is  the  greater  lake  or  Hale- 
maumau,  nearly  1,000  feet  long,  six  hundred  feet  wide,  and  five 
hundred  and  eighty  feet  below  Uwekakuna.  It  is  surrounded 
by  cliffs  an  hundred  feet  high  with  a  plenty  of  talus  of  irregular 
blocks.  The  lava  is  more  active;  the  surface  is  covered  with 
boiling  fountains,  but  they  do  not  spout  high.  Because  of  the 
unquiet  surface  the  crust  cannot  form  as  at  the -New  Lake  with 
regularity.  There  are  occasional  thin  detached  sheets  which  sink 
from  time  to  time.  The  outer  cone  is  composed  of  masses  of 
lava  that  have  been  pushed  up  with  much  shattering  and  contor- 
tion. There  are  cones  within  cones,  more  like  a  crater.  That 
it  has  been  elevated  is  testified  to  by  those  who  have  occupied 
the  Volcano  House  since  1875 ;  and  the  greater  part  of  the  eleva- 
tion has  been  effected  the  previous  three  years. 

Captain  Button  ascribes  the  ebullition  of  the  lava  to  steam  and 
gases.  Much  of  the  visible  steam  comes  from  the  fissures  and 
numberless  vent  holes  in  the  walls.  Over  the  entire  surface  of 
the  burning  lakes  is  spread  a  pall  of  translucent  vapor.  Of 
the  vapors  he  recognized  the  sulphur  gases  and  considered  that 
the  bleaching  of  the  brilliant  orange  and  saffron  colors  of  certain 
patches  was  due  to  hydrochloric  acid. 

To  the  southwest  there  existed  another  lake,  which  had  been 
opened  up  about  three  years  earlier,  known  as  the  "Old  South 
Lake."  Great  quantities  of  pungent  gas  exclude  from  number- 
less fissures,  and  the  surface  is  hot.  There  are  occasional  small 
eruptions  over  its  surface. 

THE  AUTHOR'S  VISIT  IN  1883. 

By  the  record  of  the  visitor's  book  Captain  Dutton  was  at  the 
Volcano  July  14,  August  4,  and  September  12.  The  author  ar- 


224 

rived  there  February  9  in  the  following  year,  in  company  with 
Rev.  A.  O.  Forbes  of  Honolulu,  who  from  his  familiarity  with 
the  Hawaiian  language  was  able  to  locate  the  proper  positions  of 
Kilauea  iki,  Poli  o  Keawe  and  Keanakakoi.  Several  days  were 
spent  in  the  vicinity.  At  the  first  inspection  it  was  possible,  after 
dark,  to  count  ninety  places  from  the  Volcano  House  brink  where 
fire  was  visible.  This,  of  course,  included  many  repetitions  of 
single  streams  of  which  portions  were  concealed  by  intervening 
ledges.  In  general  the  phenomena  observed  were  the  same  with 
those  described  by  Captain  Button  and  it  will  be  unnecessary  to 
repeat  what  has  just  been  described.  In  the  New  Lake  the  lava 
seemed  to  spurt  up  in  jets  six  to  eight  feet  high,  and  they  re- 
semble the  drawings  of  fire  tempests  on  the  surface  of  the  sun  as 
given  in  astronomical  text  books.  The  drops  spun  out  to  make 
Pele's  hair  were  observed  to  dart  a  distance  of  eighteen  or 
twenty  feet.  The  description  of  the  behavior  of  the  lava  in  New 
Lake  cannot  be  improved.  I  counted  a  hundred  jets  visible  at 
one  time.  The  cliffs  about  the  lake  were  nearly  fifty  feet  in 
height.  The  instant  when  the  heat  was  most  intolerable  was 
just  before  the  break-ups;  and  I  accepted  the  explanation  of 
Nordhoff,  that  this  heat  filled  the  crevices  behind  us  because  the 
stiffened  crust  prevented  its  escape  into  the  air  and  it  therefore 
made  its  way  outward  in  the  crevices.  These  periods  of  break- 
ing up  came  regularly  every  hour.  The  outlet  was  at  the  north 
end ;  and  February  Qth  it  discharged  copiously,  so  much  so  that  it 
was  impossible  to  return  to  the  Volcano  House  by  the  direct  road 
which  had  been  taken  in  order  to  reach  the  lake.  We  had  no  diffi- 
culty in  obtaining  discharges  of  liquid  lava  by  punching  the 
dome-like  structures  held  in  position  simply  by  a  thin  stiffened 
crust.  The  color  of  the  flame  contained  more  of  the  orange  ele- 
ment than  is  apparent  in  ordinary  fire.  Halemaumau  was  reached 
with  some  difficulty  and  displayed  the  same  freezing  and  break- 
ing up  observed  in  the  New  Lake.  It  was  surrounded  by  three 
rough  walls,  rudely  concentric  with  the  borders  of  the  fire.  See 
Plate  35.  It  was  a  true  crater  in  distinction  from  the  application 
of  the  term  caldera  to  the  entire  pit.  The  steam  cloud  rising 
from  Halemaumau  was  turned  either  way  according  to  the  wind, 
and  presented  a  general  resemblance  to  the  'Tine-tree"  of 
Vesuvius. 

In  examining  the  fissures  near  to  and  far  away  from  Kilauea,  it 
was  observed  that  they  were  generally  parallel  to  the  walls  of  the 
caldera.  Apropos  of  the  question  of  the  relations  of  Kilauea  to 
Mauna  Loa,  it  was  noticed  that  the  ground  falls  off  about  five 
hundred  feet  before  reaching  the  base  of  the  latter  dome.  Hence 


225 

it  seemed  to  be  an  entirely  independent  elevation;  and  the  con- 
tinuation of  the  basaltic  sheets  from  every  side  till  they  met  in 
the  air  over  the  pit  would  have  made  an  eminence  several  hun- 
dred feet  higher  than  the  plain  is  at  present. 

March  30.  Occasional  overflows  of  lakes  and  crater  gradually 
filling  up.  H.  M.  Whitney. 

May  8.  Visitors  could  not  return  by  the  same  path  on  which 
they  crossed  the  crater  because  of  the  lava  overflow. 

July  23.  Fifteen  boiling  places  in  south  lake.  Lava  poured 
into  a  cave  on  the  side  of  the  lake. 

Aug.  9.  Found  only  slight  activity;  but  there  was  a  fine  dis- 
play upon  the  following  day.  G.  H.  Barton. 

Aug.  10.  T.  H.  Davies.  Both  lakes :  a  new  caldron ;  a  break 
into  a  new  cavern.  Three  rocky  islands  in  south  lake  which 
changed  their  positions  at  night. 

Aug.  13.  One  hundred  and  twenty-five  feet  of  the  bank  fell 
into  the  New  Lake. 

Jan.  2.  Submarine  eruption  off  Cape  Kumukahu.  Mrs.  S.  J. 
Lyman. 

Jan.  28,  1884.  Both  lakes  in  fusion.  Rockets  rise  one  hundred 
feet.  Whole  of  New  Lake  boiling  and  surging  like  the  sea. 
Pele's  hair  floating  in  the  atmosphere. 

Feb.  16.  Old  crater  a  sea  of  fire.  New  Lake  burst  into 
sudden  activity. 

March  3.  The  Little  Beggar  came  into  being  between  New 
Lake  and  Halemaumau.  It  was  a  dome  two  feet  high  from  which 
a  stream  of  lava  flowed  for  several  hundred  feet.  So  called  be- 
cause it  screamed  viciously.  C.  H.  Dickey. 

March  17.     Unwonted  activity  at  New  Lake. 

May  15.  New  Lake  twice  as  large  as  on  April,  1882,  the  bank 
having  caved  in.  South  Lake  or  Halemaumau  similarly  enlarged. 
Little  Beggar  wholly  new,  as  well  as  a  breakdown  between  it  and 
Halemaumau.  W.  R.  Castle. 

May  17.  New  Lake  broken  up  the  first  time  for  several  months. 
Went  to  floor  of  Halemaumau  through  a  gap  upon  the  north  side. 
The  path  descends  from  ten  to  fifteen  feet  below  the  level  of  the 
lake.  The  lake  rose  one  foot  in  less  than  twenty-four  hours. 
The  flow  from  the  Little  Beggar  has  nearly  reached  the  north 
wall  of  the  crater. 

Nov.  5  to  ii.  Halemaumau  active.  Little  Beggar  noisy  and 
blowing  and  sending  forth  a  fresh  stream.  New  Lake  almost 
quiet. 

Jan.  15,  1885.  Crater  near  Halemaumau  considerably  built  up 
since  last  visit.  C.  H.  Wetmore. 


226 

July  29.  New  Lake  less  active,  but  Halemaumau  and  the  Little 
Beggar  exceedingly  lively.  E.  C.  Oggel. 

Aug.  23.  D.  H.  Hitchcock.  Halemaumau  now  overtops  the 
west  bank.  New  Lake  active;  and  streams  from  both  of  them 
flow  over  the  crater  floor. 

Dec.  29.     Quite  a  flow  ran  out  of  Halemaumau.     E.  P.  Baker. 

June  25  to  Dec.  15.  Both  lakes  very  active.  New  Lake  com- 
mencing to  build  a  wall  reaching  one  hundred  to  one  hundred  and 
flfty  feet  by  March,  1886. 

ERUPTION  OF  1886. 

The  Halemaumau  pit  was  completely  filled  up  on  the  evening 
of  March  6th,  1886.  The  lava  that  for  nine  years,  or  since  the 
last  previous  important  discharge  (1877)  had  been  accumulating 
and  pouring  over  the  floor  from  Halemaumau  and  New  Lake,  the 
latter  five  years  old,  attained  the  altitude  of  about  3,710  to  3,730 
feet  above  the  sea.  The  bottom  of  the  pit  of  Kilauea  was  con- 
vex— the  top  being  about  one  hundred  and  sixty  feet  higher  than 
at  the  northern  edge,  while  the  general  level  averaged  from  two 
hundred  and  fifty  to  three  hundred  feet  above  the  black  ledge  of 
1840.  Much  of  the  old  sulphur  bank  had  been  covered  and  the 
precipice  at  the  southwest  corner  had  mostly  disappeared.  Late 
in  the  evening  there  commenced  a  series  of  earthquakes  so  severe 
as  to  alarm  J.  H.  Maby,  of  the  Volcano  House,  and  his  family. 
Forty-three  shocks  were  noted  up  to  8  A.  M.  of  the  7th  instant. 
After  the  fourth  quake  the  light  disappeared. 

For  three  days  the  heated  vapors  had  been  uncommonly  hot, 
but  on  the  6th  and  7th  instant  ceased  entirely.  About  midnight 
the  lava  disappeared.  Plate  38  i  may  show  the  convex  outline 
before  the  eruption  and  Plate  38  2  the  appearance  of  the  contour 
afterwards.  At  first,  however,  the  walls  must  have  been  more 
nearly  vertical.  Later  large  blocks  of  the  black  lava  fell  down, 
and  there  was  a  talus  on  all  the  steep  slopes.  From  five  hundred 
and  seventy  to  five  hundred  and  eighty  feet  thickness  of  rock  fell 
away  directly  beneath  the  Halemaumau  lake.  The  adjacent 
New  Lake  was  comparatively  shallow,  one  hundred  and  fifty  feet. 
The  central  pit  was  about  three  hundred  feet  in  diameter.  Plate 
36  shows  the  appearance  of  Halemaumau  after  the  withdrawal 
of  the  lava ;  and  Plate  37A  a  ground  plan  of  the  triangular  area 
affected. 

Compared  with  the  earlier  discharges  this  was  very  small.  The 
main  depression  is  of  triangular  shape  with  sides  about  3,350 
feet  long,  forming  an  area  less  than  half  a  mile  square.  In  extent 


OF   THE 

UNIVERSITY 

OF 


227 

it  is  not  very  unlike  Kilauea  iki,  though  the  basin  carries  less 
cubical  content.  On  the  east  side  there  is  a  rudely  semicircular 
depression  where  New  Lake  was,  with  its  floating  islands  of 
rock.  It  makes  a  sort  of  shelf  averaging  one  hundred  and  sixty- 
five  feet  in  depth.  The  entire  floor  of  the  caldera  is  now  the  black 
ledge  and  the  lower  pit  only  the  diminutive  half  a  mile  square 
area  of  Halemaumau;  and  the  mass  that  has  disappeared  is  so 
small  that  it  is  hardly  worth  while  to  seek  to  discover  where  it  has 
gone. 

It  is  to  be  expected  that  the  liquid  might  ooze  from  one  of  the 
great  fissures  extending  southwesterly  for  several  miles  towards 
Pahala,  and  be  scarcely  noticed  as  the  region  is  mostly  a  barren 
uninhabitable  waste.  In  my  sketch44  of  this  eruption,  June  7  to 
14,  I  have  stated  that  besides  the  formation  of  the  pit  there  were 
produced  several  large  fissures  in  the  neighborhood;  one  on  the 
Poli  o  Keawe,  at  the  sulphur  banks  near  the  Volcano  House,  and 
two  on  the  road  to  Keauhou,  two  miles  distant. 

Mr.  J.  S.  Emerson  was  at  Kilauea  between  March  24th  and 
April  I4th,  taking  measurements  for  a  map.  He  saw  no  molten 
lava,  but  could  discern  evidences  of  heat.  Rev.  Mr.  E.  P.  Baker 
and  Mr.  Emerson  both  descended  into  the  pit.  On  the  eighth  of 
June  I  descended  to  its  very  lowest  depth,  nine  hundred  feet  be- 
low the  Volcano  House.  To  the  depth  of  about  three  hundred 
and  twenty-five  feet,  embracing  nearly  all  the  triangular  area,  the 
sides  were  covered  by  irregular  slabs  of  pahoehoe,  six  or  seven 
feet  long,  four  or  five  feet  wide  and  a  foot  thick.  These  were  the 
crust  of  the  lava  at  its  greatest  development,  and  they  naturally 
fell  on  the  slope  so  as  to  lie  quite  uniformly,  though  some  frag- 
ments were  tilted  in  every  direction.  The  small  lower  pit,  some 
six  hundred  feet  across,  was  covered  by  the  ordinary  grayish  lava 
blocks,  and  there  were  small  jets  of  vapor.  On  the  east  side  of 
this  pit  on  June  8th,  I  found  a  hole  about  four  feet  in  diameter, 
nearly  vertical,  reaching  down  perhaps  as  deep  as  the  pit,  to  a 
mass  of  molten  lava.  Great  volumes  of  steam  and  sulphur  vapor 
poured  out  of  this  orifice,  whose  walls  were  lined  with  sublimed 
sulphur  and  Pele's  hair.  As  this  opening  was  situated  in  the 
midst  of  loose  blocks  of  rock  and  widened  out  downwards,  it  was 
dangerous  to  stand  near  it;  but  the  swashing  of  the  liquid  was 
distinctly  audible  and  stones  thrown  down  were  heard  to  splash 
into  the  liquid.  By  my  advice  my  companion  withdrew  from  the 
edge  of  this  opening,  and  immediately  afterwards  the  rim  fell 
down  into  the  fire.  Had  not  my  friend  taken  my  advice  he  would 


44  Science,  Vol.  IX,  p.  181.  1887. 


228 

have  lost  his  life.  About  two  hundred  feet  northwards  from  this 
opening  there  was  a  copious  discharge  of  corrosive  vapors,  which 
increased  in  strength  in  the  course  of  the  following  -week.  The 
fire  in  this  opening  continued  to  enlarge  by  absorbing  the  walls. 
June  25th  two  vents  opened  upon  the  west  side  of  the  pit,  and 
lava  flowed  from  the  well  originating  June  8th,  filling  up  the  pit. 
The  further  history  of  this  spot  is  given  by  the  statements  of 
Professor  L.  L.  Van  Slyke  who  saw  what  was  transpiring  July 
ipth.  The  conical  pit  was  not  nearly  filled  up  but  there  was  a 
mound  of  lava  blocks  one  hundred  and  fifty  feet  high  taking  its 
place,  with  a  depression  encircling  it.  A  lava  lake  of  about  five 
acres  in  extent  appeared  in  this  depression  and  there  were  other 
active  fires.  He  says:  ''Ascending  the  cone  part  way,  I  came 
to  the  edge  of  a  deep  hole  or  well,  of  rather  irregular  outline,  four- 
sided,  perhaps  thirty  or  forty  feet  wide,  and  from  sixty  to  seventy- 
five  feet  long,  and  not  less  than  a  hundred  feet  deep.  The  mouth 
was  surrounded  by  masses  of  loose  rocks,  rendering  approach  to 
the  edge  impossible  or  very  dangerous,  except  at  one  point ;  from 
this  point  I  could  see  the  bottom  of  the  well,  and  that  it  was  cov- 
ered with  hardened  fresh  pahoehoe.  At  one  side  the  liquid  lava 
could  be  seen  as  it  was  puffed  out  of  a  small  hole  every  few  sec- 
onds and  thrown  up  a  few  feet.  The  puffing  noise  accompanying 
the  ejection  of  the  lava  was  quite  like  that  of  a  railway  locomotive, 
though  louder.  The  aperture  through  which  the  lava  was  thrown 
out  might  have  been  three  feet  long  and  two  feet  wide.  Immedi- 
ately beneath  the  point  where  I  was  standing  there  seemed  to  be 
a  constant  and  tremendous  commotion,  attended  by  a  peculiar 
swashing  noise,  but  I  could  not  lean  sufficiently  far  over  with 
safety  to  see  anything.  Fumes  of  sulphur  dioxide  were  coming 
up  in  abundance,  but  being  on  the  windward  side  I  was  not  great- 
ly annoyed  by  them." 

From  the  southeastern  side  he  ascended  the  cone  and  came  to 
"a  second  well  or  deep  hole,  where  molten  lava  was  visible.  This 
well  was  nearly  round,  with  a  diameter  of  perhaps  twenty  or 
thirty  feet,  and  a  depth  of  about  a  hundred.  *  *  *  Like  the 
other  well,  the  sides  were  perpendicular.  At  the  bottom  was  a 
cone  having  an  opening  at  the  top  perhaps  ten  feet  across;  and 
inside  liquid  lava  was  boiling  with  intense  violence,  every  few 
seconds  throwing  up  a  jet  of  lava,  the  spray  of  which  came  to  the 
mouth  of  the  well  almost  into  my  face." 

In  addition  to  these  holes,  Professor  Van  Slyke  visited  a  lake 
of  lava  located  beneath  the  west  wall  of  Halemaumau  in  the  de- 
pression, and  extending  about  four  hundred  feet  to  the  "smoke 


PLATE  37. 


A.     Ground  Plan  of  Plate  36. 


HALEnAUHAU 

OCT.IX86. 


B.     Ground  Plan  of  Halemaumau,  October,  1886. 


PLATE  38. 


Sm.c.t  ions  a  c  ross  ,  /Y«tZe 


I  Bzforc,  erupTion    of  March,  7, 


After  eruption,  o+  AlarcA. 


Sections  across  Halemaumeu,    1886-92. 


229 

jet."  At  first  the  surface  was  hardened  and  black;  later  there 
were  spasmodic  discharges  of  lava. 

In  September  Mr.  F.  S.  Dodge  spent  a  fortnight  at  Kilauea  ob- 
serving the  growth  of  the  cone  in  Halemaumau  and  perfecting 
the  data  for  a  map  supplementary  to  that  of  J.  S.  Emerson.  A 
drawing  made  October  i8th,  Plate  37B,  shows  several  steam  holes 
upon  the  surface  of  the  cone,  a  to  g.  Mr.  Dodge  noted  the  rise 
of  the  general  floor  due  to  the  flow  of  the  lava  from  Halemaumau. 
He  also  measured  the  debris-cone  whose  beginning  had  been  de- 
scribed by  Van  Slyke.  It  was  1,080  feet  broad  from  N.  E.  to 
S.  W.,  1,100  from  E.  to  W.  and  nine  hundred  and  thirty  from 
N.  W.  to  S.  E.  Hence  as  the  width  of  the  general  basin  was 
2,300  feet  there  was  a  depression  encircling  the  cone  with  a  width 
of  from  five  hundred  to  seven  hundred  feet.  The  highest  point 
on  the  cone  was  not  quite  as  high  as  the  surrounding  black  ledge. 
A  section  showing  the  relations  of  the  cone  and  the  black  ledge 
appears  in  Plate  38,  No.  3. 

The  most  important  discovery  made  by  Mr.  Dodge  was  the  fact 
that  the  whole  basin  with  the  cone  was  rising  at  the  rate  of  nearly 
one  foot  daily.  By  January  I4th,  1887,  it  had  risen  two  hundred 
feet  since  October,  1886,  as  though  floating  upon  the  surface  of  a 
liquid  lake.  One  of  our  illustrations  shows  this  cone  as  it  ap- 
peared in  October. 

Nov.  4,  1886.  W.  R.  Castle  noticed  that  heat  was  perceptible 
in  the  fissure  of  1868  near  Kilauea  iki.  He  also  visited  Kama- 
kaopule,  a  crater  southeast  from  Kilauea  iki.  It  is  a  pit  five 
hundred  feet  deep,  one-half  of  which  is  filled  with  sand.  Steam 
was  issuing  from  a  crevice  in  the  road  quite  near  it.  And  it  is 
said  there  is  a  very  hot  mound,  now  perceptible,  (1908),  west  of 
the  road,  towards  Kau. 

In  August,  1887,  Kilauea  was  visited  by  Professor  J.  D.  Dana, 
who  has  fully  described  the  history  of  Halemaumau  since  the 
eruption  in  March,  i886.45  He  found  the  top  of  the  cone  to  be 
high  above  the  rim  of  the  Halemaumau  basin;  and  that  it  was 
literally  a  debris-cone  made  of  fragments  of  the  lava  crust  and  not 
of  loose  scoria  such  as  comes  from  the  central  vent.  "In  the  basin 
about  the  cone,  the  chief  boiling  lava  lake  was  on  the  west  side, 
in  full  view  from  the  top  of  the  west  wall.  The  lake  was  about 
one  hundred  and  fifty  by  one  hundred  and  seventy-five  feet  in  its 
diameters.  Although  mostly  crusted  over,  it  showed  the  red  fires 
in  a  few  long  crossing  lines  (fissures),  and  in  three  to  five  open 
places,  half-way  under  the  overhanging  rock  of  the  margin  where 
the  lavas  are  dashing  up  in  spray  and  splashing  noisily,  with  seem- 

45  Characteristics  of  Volcanoes,  1890. 


230 

ingly  the  liquidity  of  water.  Now  and  then  the  fire  places 
widened  out  toward  the  interior  of  the  lake,  breaking  up  the  crust 
and  consuming  it  by  fusion;  yet  at  no  time  was  there  a  projection 
of  the  lavas  in  vertical  jets  in  a  par-boiling  way;  nor  was  it  too 
hot  to  stand  on  the  border  of  the  lake  if  only  the  face  were  pro- 
tected. Although  relatively  so  quiet,  the  mobility  of  the  brilliant 
splashing  lavas  made  it  an  intensely  interesting  sight.  Occa- 
sionally the  red  fissures  widened  by  a  fusing  of  the  sides  as  the 
crust  near  by  heaved,  and  the  lavas  flowed  over  the  surface.  It 
was  evident  from  the  cooled  streams  outside,  that  now  and  then 
more  forcible  movements  take  place,  followed  by  outflows  over 
the  margin;  when  the  whole  lake  is  in  action.  There  were  no 
true  well-defined  jets  rising  and  falling  over  any  part  of  the  sur- 
face, like  those  of  1840,  a  condition  requiring  a  little  more  heat; 
but  the  splashing  at  the  margin,  also  due  to  the  escape  of  vapor 
bubbles,  had  all  the  freedom  of  movement  of  splashing  waves  on 
a  seacoast.  The  existence  of  the  half-covered  caverns  along  the 
margin,  which  the  descriptions  show  to  have  been  the  most  com- 
mon feature  for  a  score  of  years,  was  owing  to  the  protection 
from  cooling  given  by  the  overlying  rock.  All  parts  of  the  basin 
had  been  overflowed  from  fissures  or  temporary  lava  pools."  This 
pool  has  since  been  named  Dana  Lake. 

Our  friend  took  great  interest  in  the  formation  of  the  wrinkles 
on  the  surface  of  the  cooled  lava  streams  which  give  the  look  of 
tapestry  folds,  and  are  similar  to  the  ropy  lava  of  many  authors. 
The  stream  of  lava  moves  beneath  the  thin  crust  while  it  is  cool- 
ing; and  the  little  waves  thus  produced  are  too  stiff  to  fall  back 
to  their  original  horizontally.  The  wrinkles  must  be  at  right 
angles  to  the  direction  of  the  movement.  Good  photographs  of 
recently  cooled  lava  show  both  these  concentric  tapestry  lines  and 
also  many  oven-shaped  domes  sometimes  fifteen  or  twenty  feet 
high.  Commonly  their  surfaces  are  broken  because  of  the  run- 
ning away  of  the  molten  lava  inside  and  the  inability  of  the  roof  to 
sustain  weight.  One  often  develops  this  fracture  in  walking  over 
an  old  lava  stream. 

The  vapors  of  sulphur  may  assist  in  the  making  of  these  ovens 
or  domes,  and  will  leave  in  the  spaces  below  yellow  and  white  in- 
crustations and  stalactites  of  glauber  salt  and  gypsum.  Instead 
of  a  scoriaceous  crust  when  the  lava  exudes  through  fissures,  the 
surface  may  be  composed  of  glass,  as  the  scoria  material  is  not 
present. 

The  changes  ensuing,  seen  in  September,  consist  in  a  longi- 
tudinal division  of  the  west  wall,  showing  vapors  rising  from  the 
whole  length  of  the  western  section.  By  March  8th,  1888,  the 


PLATE  39. 


rft«iii&a 


*\     Sunken. 


1  MALLnAUHAU 
JULY 


A.     Ground  Plan  of  Halemaumau,  July,    1888. 


3°o 


HAimAUHAU  AUG.I89X. 

B.     Ground  Plan  of  Halemaumau,  August,    1892. 


PLATE  40. 


A.     Dana  Lake. 


B.     View  of  Halemaumau  in  1892. 


231 

cone  had  risen  so  high  that  the  summit  was  "on  a  line  with  the 
outside  walls  of  the  crater  beyond  it,  looking  from  the  Volcano 
House."  The  whole  mass,  both  the  cone  and  the  depression 
around  it,  had  thus  risen  nearly  forty  feet  since  August. 

Still  further  changes  were  apparent  in  July,  1888,  illustrated 
in  our  reproduction  of  Mr.  Dodge's  map  and  section,  Plates  38, 
39A. 

The  conical  mass  seems  to  be  subdivided  into  four  elliptical 
cones  encircling  a  space  concealed  by  vapors  of  unknown  depth, 
where  molten  lava  may  be  existent.  These  subordinate  cones 
are  from  one  hundred  and  sixty  to  one  hundred  and  twenty-five 
feet  above  the  surrounding  black  ledge.  The  whole  area  of  what 
was  the  depression  of  March,  1886,  is  also  elevated  above  the 
black  ledge,  and  lava  from  the  central  vents  pours  down  into  the 
old  hollow  where  the  New  Lake  once  existed.  On  the  west  side 
of  the  cone  the  Dana  lake  has  been  further  developed ;  there  were 
six  small  discharging  cones  ten  to  twenty  feet  high  outside  of 
the  central  more  highly  elevated  mass. 

Dec.  22,  1888.  L.  A.  Thurston  says  the  activity  is  greater 
than  ever  before.  From  the  Elephant's  Head  a  flow  of  aa  pro- 
ceeded four  days  ago.  A  dozen  blowholes.  Lava  lake  has  a  con- 
fining wall  built  by  itself,  five  feet  thick.  Lava  rose  and  fell 
several  times  to  the  extent  of  three  or  four  feet.  A  layer  of  Pele's 
hair  four  inches  thick. 

Feb.  21,  1889.  Light  over  Kilauea.  May  and  June  remark- 
able activity.  No  eruption.  Mrs.  S.  J.  Lyman. 

In  May  E.  P.  Baker  wrote  to  Professor  Dana  that  there  was  at 
this  time  a  subsidence  of  eighty  feet  in  the  floor  of  Halemaumau 
which  carried  down  the  large  central  debris  cone,  leaving  ver- 
tical walls  about  the  great  depression.  There  was  a  fissure  in  the 
.floor  of  Kilauea  which  may  have  drawn  off  this  lava  and  trans- 
ported it  a  comparatively  short  distance.  On  July  4  there  was  a 
stream  of  lava  from  D'ana  Lake,  flowing  towards  the  cone. 

July  1 8.  A.  B.  Lyons  says  there  is  a  cone  of  debris  two  hun- 
dred feet  high,  from  whose  base  perpetual  clouds  of  steam  and 
sulphur  are  issuing.  The  mass  floats  upon  lava  deep  down.  It 
is  in  the  center  of  a  triangular  depression  2,400  feet  in  diameter, 
surrounded  by  precipitous  walls  twenty  to  thirty  feet  high.  On 
one  side  is  a  lake  of  lava  one  hundred  and  seventy-five  by  one 
hundred  and  twenty  feet. 

Jan.  2,  1890.  E.  P.  Baker  says  a  crack  N.  W.  and  S.  E.,  cor- 
responding to  the  outside  of  the  area  that  has  been  lifted  ver- 
tically, formed  Nov.  4,  1889.  Plate  4oA  represents  the  lake  in 
1890,  the  exact  date  not  being  given.  Taken  by  Williams  of  Ho- 


232 

nolulu.      Shows  well  the  appearance  of  a  black  ledge  encircling 
it  and  fragments  of  the  congealed  crust. 

Jan.  2,  1891.  L.  A.  Thurston  reports  great  activity,  Dana1 
and  the  new  lake  boiling,  throwing  lava  from  forty  to  sixty 
feet.  The  wall  about  Dana  Lake  more  conspicuous  and  the 
surface  of  the  lava  about  ten  feet  above  the  surrounding  coun- 
try. Climbed  the  north  wall  of  the  central  cone  of  Hale- 
maumau. 

SUBSIDENCE  OF  THE  DEBRIS  CONE. 

It  is  worthy  of  note  that  in  the  next  series  of  changes  the 
area  of  the  more  elevated  part  of  this  cone  becomes  the 
depressed  area  of  August,  1892,  as  shown  by  the  section  and 
map  of  that  date;  and  a  description  of  the  changes  follows. 

S.  E.  Bishop.  In  the  collapse  of  March  7,  1891,  the  debris 
cone,  Dana  and  Maby  lakes  disappeared,  leaving  a  pit  seven 
hundred  feet  deep.  Lava  soon  returned,  and  for  one  year  has 
been  gradually  rising.  In  Dana  Lake  the  lava  had  issued 
quietly  from  the  center  towards  the  walls  and  descended  car- 
rying sections  of  the  crust.  Now  the  edges  are  quiet.  The 
current  starts  from  east  of  the  center  and  flows  westward. 
Pieces  disappear  in  the  vivid  melee  of  the  center.  The  cone 
form  of  Halemaumau  becomes  more  distinct.  (Written  April 
n,  1892.) 

There  was  a  slight  earthquake  when  the  change  took  place, 
and  it  was  exactly  five  years  between  the  last  two  collapses. 
As  the  debris  cone  was  about  two  hundred  feet  high  its  apex 
was  only  eighty-eight  feet  below  the  Volcano  House — the 
highest  point  attained  by  the  rock  during  the  whole  history 
of  the  volcano,  or  3,955  feet  above  the  sea.  The  melted  lava 
probably  reached  the  height  of  three  hundred  and  seventy  feet 
below  the  Volcano  House. 

March  18,  1891.  A  sheer  precipice  around  Halemaumau. 
Depth  a  little  less  than  in  1886.  E.  P.  Baker. 

May  19.  W.  R.  Castle  says  that  Halemaumau  is  a  profound 
abyss  1,800  feet  in  diameter  and  nearly  three  hundred  feet 
deep.  Mr.  E.  N.  Hitchcock  succeeded  in  making  the  perilous 
descent  to  the  bottom  over  large  blocks  of  lava.  On  the 
northeast  side  of  the  lake  is  a  cone  ejecting  lava. 

Sept.  14.  E.  P.  Baker.  In  May  the  lava  lake  was  four  hun- 
dred to  five  hundred  feet  below  the  edge.  Now  it  is  about 
two  hundred.  Lava  flows  from  N.  W.  to  S.  E. 

Nov.  30.  H.  M.  Whitney  says  the  lake  is  1,000  to  2,000  feet 
across,  throwing  up  several  large  jets  and  thousands  of  small 


233 

ones.  There  are  two  openings  near  the  center  allowing-  the 
lava  to  ascend  and  descend. 

Feb.  12,  1892.  L.  A.  Thurston.  Diameter  of  the  pit  2,500 
feet.  It  is  two  hundred  and  fifty  feet  down  to  the  black  ledge, 
which  is  twenty-five  feet  high  and  two  hundred  feet  broad. 
It  is  1,300  feet  from  bank  to  bank  of  the  lake  next  to  the  black 
ledge.  J.  M.  Lee  says  that  two  months  ago  the  molten  lava 
sank  one  hundred  and  fifty  feet  below  the  level  of  the  black 
ledge.  After  one  month  it  began  to  rise  again  and  lacks  now 
only  twenty-five  feet  of  its  pristine  level.  Lava  boiling  with 
bursts  of  spray  twenty-five  feet  to  fifty  feet.  No  upward 
thrust.  The  filling  is  by  overflow  from  the  central  lake. 

The  condition  of  things  in  Kilauea  after  the  changes  of 
March  7th,  1891,  have  been  very  intelligently  described  by 
Professor  A.  B.  Lyons.46  He  spoke  first  of  the  appearance  in 
1889,  and  found  in  1892,  July  n,  everything  so  changed  that 
nothing  in  the  vicinity  of  Halemaumau  was  recognizable.  The 
debris-cone  with  the  attendant  clouds  of  steam  and  smoke  had 
vanished.  From  the  hotel,  one  would  say  that  the  volcano  has 
entirely  disappeared ;  and  nothing  suggestive  of  great  impor- 
tance was  perceptible  till  the  pit  itself  was  close  at  hand, 
which  was  enclosed  by  a  precipice  constituting  a  circular 
rampart  two  hundred  and  fifty  feet  deep,  half  a  mile  in  diame- 
ter. The  sides  consisted  of  irregularly  bedded  lava  varying 
in  hue  from  gray  to  brick  red ;  the  floor  of  fresh  black  pahoe- 
hoe  with  a  fluid  center  or  lake  partly  quiet  and  partly  boiling 
like  a  witch's  caldron.  The  lava  pool  occupies  about  fifteen 
acres  with  banks  from  five  to  ten  feet  high. 

The  lava  blocks  are  loosely  piled  beneath  the  precipice  over 
which  by  care  it  is  possible  to  make  one's  way.  The  lake  is 
twenty-five  to  thirty  feet  higher  than  the  base  of  the  walls 
of  the  pit.  On  the  south  side  the  lake  is  held  in  place  by  a 
sort  of  levee  of  slight  thickness  over  which  the  lava  pours  in 
a  magnificent  cataract  not  less  than  fifteen  feet  in  perpendicu- 
lar height. 

So  much  lava  rises  from  below  that  the  level  of  the  lake  is 
constantly  rising  and  changing  its  area.  One  evening  there 
were  overflows  from  three  different  points  at  once,  and  within 
two  hours'  time  fifteen  acres  of  the  black  lava  were  inundated. 
The  heat  is  intense,  and  one  is  in  danger  of  being  bombarded 
by  the  spurts  of  the  fiery  liquid.  It  was  dangerous  to  go  to 
leeward  of  the  lake  because  of  the  unexpected  flows  of  lava 


"Thrum's  Annual  for  1893. 


234 

which  might  cut  off  one's  retreat  or  raise  the  temperature  of 
an  inclosed  space  to  an  unendurable  degree. 

A  more  minute  description  has  been  given  by  Professor 
Lyons  as  he  sat  by  the  brink  of  the  lake  in  a  secure  position. 
"As  daylight  fades  the  walls  of  the  pit  begin  to  glow  with  the 
reflection  of  the  lurid  volcanic  fire ;  the  clouds  which  the  trade 
wind  brings  over  the  crater  catch  the  same  unearthly  light 
which  brightens  with  the  outburst  of  each  new  fountain  below. 
As  the  darkness  deepens,  the  light  from  the  lava  jets  and 
surges  becomes  fairly  dazzling  to  the  eyes,  and  the  action  is 
kept  up  almost  without  intermission,  now  at  one  point  only, 
again  along  half  the  circumference  of  the  lake,  or  over  areas  of 
an  acre  or  two  in  the  center.  There  were  certain  lines  along 
which  the  ebullition  would  take  place  repeatedly,  sometimes 
continuing  hours  together,  sometimes  only  momentarily  at 
somewhat  regular  intervals ;  the  lava  would  be  thrown  to  a 
height  of  fifteen  to  thirty  feet,  small  clots,  appearing  like 
sparks,  shooting  often  to  double  that  height.  The  peculiar 
sullen  or  angry  roar  of  the  fiery  surf  could  be  often  distinctly 
heard  and  was  at  times  startlingly  loud.  Frequently,  too,  the 
radiated  heat  could  be  distinctly  felt  when  there  was  an  unusual 
outburst. 

"The  crust  which  by  daylight  had  appeared  to  be  uniformly 
black  is  seen  in  the  night  to  be  crossed  with  a  net  work  of 
cracks  and  fissures  through  which  the  light  of  the  glowing 
metal  can  be  seen.  These  appear  sometimes  simply  as  sharply 
defined  lines,  forming  a  more  or  less  intricate  pattern;  which 
is,  however,  momentarily  changing.  This  is  when  the  lava 
crust  is  under  no  particular  tension.  Again  the  lines  of  light 
will  be  seen  perhaps  sharply  defined  on  one  side  but  shaded 
through  tints  of  red  to  darkness  on  the  other,  the  effect  being 
produced  by  a  force  drawing  the  crust  bodily  away  from  the 
crack  on  one  side.  Frequently  a  crack  will  be  shaded  in  this 
way  on  both  sides,  and  will  presently  divide  into  two  parallel 
lines  of  light  which  will  slowly  separate  from  one  another. 
When  the  current  pushes  the  crust  before  it  on  the  other  hand, 
it  will  yield  suddenly,  one  edge  will  be  forced  up  and  the  other 
down,  so  that  presently  the  crust  will  break  into  blocks  which 
will  be  successively  engulphed.  Then  a  fountain  will  perhaps 
suddenly  burst  through  the  crust,  tossing  about  its  fragments, 
some  of  them  a  ton's  weight,  like  bits  of  drift  wood  in  the 
eddies  of  a  mountain  torrent.  Then  at  some  point  the  flood 
will  rise  above  its  embankment,  and  almost  without  warning 
a  lava  stream  will  begin  to  flow,  becoming  presently  a  river  of 
living  fire.  The  whole  pit  will  be  ablaze  with  vivid  light ;  the 


235 

flood  will  spread  until  it  reaches  the  foot  of  the  enclosing  wall, 
glowing  at  first  like  molten  iron  drawn  from  the  smelting  fur- 
nace, then  changing  to  a  lurid  red  except  where  the  feeding 
river  continues  to  flow,  and  so  fading  until  it  shows  only  here 
and  there  glaring  eyes  of  fire  looking  out  from  cavernous 
depths.  It  is  as  futile  to  attempt  description  as  for  the  painter 
to  try  to  present  on  canvass  anything  but  a  travesty  of  a 
volcano." 

The  conditions  as  above  described  are  shown  in  the  draw- 
ing of  Mr.  Dodge  for  August,  1892,  Pate  396. 

Explanation  of  Plate  396.  a.  b.  c.  small  fire  openings  in  the 
floor,  which  average'  two  hundred  and  sixty-five  feet  below 
two  hundred  and  eighty-three.  Diameter  of  lake  N.  E.  and 
S.  W.  eight  hundred  and  twenty-five,  E.  and  W.  eight  hundred 
and  forty,  S.  E.  and  N.  W.  eight  hundred  and  ten.  Diameter 
of  Halemaumau  N.  and  S.  2,500,  E.  and  W.  2,250,  N.  E.  and 
S.  W.  2,340,  N.  W.  and  S.  E.  2,400.  The  ledge  south  of  the 
lake  seems  to  be  the  precursor  of  a  ridge  developed  later. 

Sept.  28,  1892.  E.  P.  Baker.  Went  to  molten  lava  ascend- 
ing the  rim.  No  large  flows  from  it.  Lake  higher  than  before ; 
about  two  hundred  and  forty  feet  down. 

Jan.  9,  1893.  Lake  eight  hundred  and  forty  feet  long,  eight 
hundred  and  twenty-five  feet  wide ;  the  rim  two  hundred  and 
forty  feet  below  top  of  cliffs,  which  are  about  sixty-five  feet 
high  and  rise  twenty-five  feet  above  the  hot  circumambient 
black  ledge.  Is  rising  from  accretion  not  elevation. 

Jan.  26.  Rim  broken  in  a  dozen  places,  and  lake  lowered 
twenty-five  feet. 

Feb.  i.     Height  of  cliffs  said  to  be  one  hundred  feet. 

May  14.  Charles  Nordhoff.  In  January,  1873,  one  had  to 
ascend  a  hill  to  reach  the  lake;  now  there  is  an  ugly  descent 
of  perhaps  fifty  feet  and  then  a  slight  climb  to  reach  the  lava. 
Action  less  mild  than  before. 

June  20.  E.  P.  Baker.  Lake  one  hundred  feet  below  banks, 
or  one  hundred  and  forty  feet  lower  than  at  previous  visit. 

July  29.  W.  R.  Castle  speaks  of  the  lake  one  hundred  to 
one  hundred  and  seventy-five  feet  down,  which  has  built  a  rim 
about  itself  thirty-five  feet  high.  The  rim  gives  way  and  the 
lava  falls  a  foot;  then  rises  from  accretion  and  then  falls  again. 
Every  outburst  of  lava  accompanied  by  fumes  of  sulphur. 

Aug.  4.     Lake  full  to  the  brim. 

Dec.  25.  W.  Goodale.  Since  1847  the  uprising  of  the  whole 
floor  has  been  the  noticeable  feature  of  the  volcano,  and  after 
every  breakdown  the  lava  comes  back  to  Halemaumau.  This 
word  means  "the  fixed,  lasting,  unchanging,  everlasting,  ever 


236 

continuous,  house."  No  sense  in  saying  "Fern  house"  or 
"House  thatched  with  ferns;"  any  such  structure  w;is  back 
of  the  Volcano  House.  (Westervelt.)  No  Hawaiian  has  ever 
written  the  name  Halema'uma'u ;  and  they  call  the  Caldera 
Ka  lua  o  Pele  "The  pit  of  Pele." 

Jan.  8,  1894.     Entire  lake  very  active ;  tending  to  fill  the  pit. 

March  20.  F.  S.  Dodge.  Whole  pit  filled  up.  Lake  eight 
hundred  by  1,200  feet,  two  hundred  and  eighty-two  feet  below 
Volcano  House.  Has  risen  two  hundred  and  forty  feet  in  nine- 
teen months. 

March  21.  The  north  wall  suddenly  elevated  eighty  feet 
above  the  lake.  J.  M.  Lee. 

March  26.  W.  R.  Castle.  Entire  lake  in  condition  of  in- 
tense agitation,  spouting  and  boiling  with  lava  flowing  over 
the  sides.  Suddenly  on  the  west  side  stones,  lava  and  dust 
thrown  high  into  the  air  with  spouting  columns  of  fire,  and  in 
less  than  five  minutes  the  north  bank  was  tilted  up  to  a  height 
of  one  hundred  feet,  leaving  an  abrupt  wall  over  the  lake  with 
a  steep,  broken  slope  toward  the  north.  It  appears  to  have 
been  lifted  up  by  lava  pressing  from  no  great  distance  below, 
and  a  stream  has  constantly  emerged  from  the  northeast  slope 
of  the  hill  ever  since.  Much  more  steam  than  usual  comes 
from  all  the  cracks,  even  up  to  the  sulphur  banks. 

THE  BREAKDOWN  IN  1894. 

For  about  two  years  the  liquid  had  been  accumulating,  till 
finally  it  filled  the  pit  and  oozed  forth  from  the  highest  part 
of  the  immense  column.  The  borders  of  the  fused  lava  cooled 
more  quickly  than  the  interior;  whence  it  resulted  that  the 
refrigerated  mass  accumulated  around  the  edges  of  the  pool 
and  kept  increasing  till  a  basin  was  formed,  very  much  like 
the  bowls  in  the  Yellowstone  Park  that  accumulate  from  the 
cooling  of  the  lime  compounds  in  the  water  except  that  the 
refrigerated  mass  was  outside  of  the  basin ;  and  the  shape  pro- 
duced might  be  likened  to  an  inverted  saucer.  The  Frontispiece 
shows  this  lake  when  at  its  best  development,  and  Plate  42  is  a 
view  of  the  edge  of  the  same  at  the  south  end  taken  from  below. 

This  eruption  marks  a  climax  in  the  history  of  the  volcano, 
representing  the  highest  elevation  attained  by  any  lava  lake  in 
Halemaumau,  two  hundred  and  eighty-five  feet  below  the  Vol- 
cano House,  or  3,755  feet  above  the  sea.  Pele  may  excel  this 
record  in  the  future;  and  in  that  case  she  will  probablv  send  a 
burning  stream  into  Kau,  for  the  barrier  to  be  overcome  there 
is  only  about  fifteen  feet. 


237 

In  the  early  part  of  July  Mr.  L.  A.  Thurston  and  party  wit- 
nessed this  unprecedented  series  of  changes.  The  account  of 
it  was  spread  upon  the  Volcano  House  record  and  sent  to  the 
P.  C.  Advertiser  from  which  the  following  notes  are  compiled : 

"Upon  arriving  at  the  volcano  on  July  5,  1894,  the  principal 
change  since  Mr.  Dodge's  visit  was  found  to  be  the  sudden 
rising  of  the  north  bank  of  the  lake,  covering  an  area  of  about 
eight  hundred  feet  long  by  four  hundred  wide,  which,  on  the 
2 ist  of  March  last  was  suddenly  and  without  warning  elevated 
to  a  height  of  eighty  feet  above  the  other  banks  and  the  sur- 
face of  the  lava,  the  lake  being  then  full.  The  raised  area  was 
much  shattered.  Two  blow-holes  shortly  afterward  made 
their  appearance  on  the  outer  line  of  the  fracture.  April  i8th 
the  hill  thus  formed  began  to  sink,  and  on  July  5th  was  only 
about  thirty  feet  above  the  other  walls  of  the  lake.  On  the 
evening  of  July  6th,  a  party  of  tourists  found  the  lake  in  a 
state  of  moderate  activity,  the  surface  of  the  lava  being  about 
twelve  feet  below  the  banks. 

"On  Saturday,  the  7th,  the  surface  of  the  lake  raised  so  that 
the  entire  lake  was  visible  from  the  Volcano  House.  That 
night  it  overflowed  into  the  main  crater,  and  a  blow-hole  was 
thrown  up,  some  two  hundred  yards  outside  and  to  the  north 
of  the  lake,  from  which  a  flow  issued.  There  were  two  other 
hot  cones  in  the  immediate  vicinity  which  had  been  thrown  up 
about  three  weeks  before.  On  Sunday,  Monday  and  Tuesday 
following  [8,  9,  10],  the  surface  of  the  lake  rose  and  fell  several 
times,  carying  from  full  to  the  brim  to  fifteen  feet  below  the 
edge  of  the  banks. 

"On  the  morning  of  the  nth  the  hill  was  found  to  have 
sunk  down  to  the  level  of  the  other  banks,  and  frequent 
columns  of  rising  dust  indicated  that  the  banks  were  falling  in. 
At  9 145  A.  M.,  at  which  hour  a  party  reached  the  lake,  a  red- 
hot  crack  from  three  to  six  feet  wide  was  found  surrounding 
the  space  recently  occupied  by  the  hill;  the  hill  was  nearly 
level ;  the  lake  had  fallen  some  fifty  feet,  and  the  wall  of  the 
lake  formed  by  the  hill  was  falling  in  at  intervals. 

"The  lava  in  the  lake  continued  to  fall  steadily,  at  the  rate 
of  about  twenty  feet  an  hour  from  ten  o'clock  in  the  morning, 
until  eight  in  the  evening.  At  n  A.  M.  the  area  formerly  occu- 
pied by  the  hill,  began  to  sink  bodily,  leaving  a  clean  line  of 
fracture ;  the  line  of  this  area  was  continuously  leaning  over 
and  falling  into  the  lake.  From  about  noon  until  eight  in  the 
evening  there  was  scarcely  a  moment  when  the  crash  of  the 
falling  banks  was  not  going  on.  As  the  level  of  the  lake  sank, 
the  greater  height  of  the  banks  caused  a  constantly  increasing 


238 

commotion  in  the  lake  as  the  banks  struck  the  surface  of  the 
molten  lava  in  their  fall.  A  number  of  times  a  section  of  the 
bank  from  two  hundred  to  five  hundred  feet  long,  one  hundred 
and  fifty  to  two  hundred  feet  high,  and  twenty  to  thirty  feet 
thick,  would  split  off  from  the  adjoining  rocks,  and  with  a 
tremendous  roar,  amid  a  blinding  cloud  of  steam,  smoke  and 
dust,  fall  with  an  appalling  down  plunge  into  the  boiling  lake, 
causing  great  waves  and  breakers  of  fire  to  dash  into  the  air, 
and  a  mighty  'ground  swell'  to  sweep  across  the  lake  dashing 
against  the  opposite  cliffs  like  storm  waves  upon  a  lee  shore. 
Most  of  the  falling  rocks  were  immediately  swallowed  up  by 
the  lake,  but  when  one  of  the  great  downfalls  referred  to 
occurred,  it  would  not  immediately  sink,  but  would  float  off 
across  the  lake,  a  great  floating  island  of  rock.  At  about  three 
o'clock  an  island  of  this  character  was  formed,  estimated  to  be 
one  hundred  and  twenty-five  feet  long,  twenty-five  feet  wide 
and  rising  ten  to  fifteen  feet  above  the  surface  of  the  lake. 
Shortly  after,  another  great  fall  took  place,  the  rock  plunging 
out  of  sight  beneath  the  fiery  waves.  Within  a  few  minutes, 
however,  a  portion  of  it,  approximately  thirty  feet  in  diameter, 
rose  up  to  an  elevation  of  from  five  to  ten  feet  above  the  sur- 
face of  the  lake,  the  molten  lava  streaming  off  its  surface, 
quickly  cooling  and  looking  like  a  great  rose  colored  robe, 
changing  to  black.  These  two  islands,  in  the  course  of  an 
hour,  floated  out  to  the  center,  and  then  to  the  opposite  bank. 
At  eight  in  the  evening  they  had  changed  their  appearance  but 
slightly.  By  the  next  morning  they  had,  however,  disappeared. 

"About  noon  the  falling  lava  disclosed  the  fact  that  the  small 
extension  at  the  right  of  the  lake  was  only  eighty  feet  deep, 
and  it  was  soon  left  high  and  dry ;  simply  a  great  shelf  in  the 
bank,  high  up  above  the  surface  of  the  lake.  As  the  lava  fell, 
most  of  the  surrounding  banks  were  seen  to  be  slightly  over- 
hanging, and  as  the  lateral  support  of  the  molten  lava  was 
withdrawn,  great  slices  of  the  over-hanging  banks  on  all  sides 
of  the  lake  would  suddenly  split  off  and  fall  into  the  lake  be- 
neath. 

"As  these  falls  took  place  the  exposed  surface,  sometimes  a 
hundred  feet  across  and  upwards,  would  be  left  red-hot,  the 
break  evidently  having  taken  place  on  the  line  of  a  heat-crack 
which  had  extended  down  into  the  lake. 

"About  six  o'clock  the  fallen  bank  adjacent  to  the  hill  worked 
back  into  a  territory  which,  below  fifty  feet  from  the  surface, 
was  all  hot  and  in  a  semi-molten  condition.  From  six  to  eight 
o'clock  the  entire  surface  of  this  bluff,  some  eight  hundred  feet 
in  length  and  over  two  hundred  feet  in  height,  was  a  shifting 


239 

mass  of  color,  varying  from  the  intense  light  of  molten  lava 
to  all  the  varying  shades  of  rose  and  red  to  black,  as  the  dif- 
ferent portions  were  successively  exposed  by  a  fall  of  rock 
and  then  cooled  by  exposure  to  the  air.  During  this  period 
the  crash  of  the  falling  banks  was  incessant.  Sometimes  a 
great  mass  would  fall  forward  like  a  wall;  at  others  it  would 
simply  collapse  and  slide  down  making  red-hot  fiery  land- 
slides, and  again  enormous  boulders,  as  big  as  a  house,  singly 
and  in  groups,  would  leap  from  their  fastenings  and,  all  aglow, 
chase  each  other  down  and  leap  far  out  into  the  lake.  The 
awful  grandeur  and  terrible  magnificence  of  the  scene  at  this 
stage  are  indescribable.  As  night  came  on,  and  yet  hotter 
recesses  were  uncovered,  the  molten  lava  which  remained  in 
the  many  caverns  leading  off  through  the  banks  to  other  por- 
tions of  the  crater,  began  to  run  back  and  fall  down  into  the 
lake  beneath,  making  fiery  cascades  down  the  sides  of  the 
bluff.  There  were  five  such  lava  streams  at  one  time. 

"The  light  from  the  surface  of  the  lake,  the  red-hot  walls, 
and  the  molten  streams  lighted  up  the  entire  area,  bringing 
out  every  detail  with  the  utmost  distinctness,  and  lighted  up  a 
tall  column  of  dust  and  smoke  which  rose  straight  up.  Dur- 
ing the  entire  period  of  the  subsidence  the  lava  fountains  upon 
the  surface  of  the  lake  continued  in  action,  precisely  as  though 
nothing  unusual  was  taking  place. 

"Although  the  action  upon  the  face  of  the  subsiding  area 
was  so  terrific,  that  upon  the  portion  between  the  falling  face 
and  the  outer  line  of  fracture  was  so  gradual,  that  an  active 
man  could  have  stood  on  almost  any  portion  of  it  without 
injury.  Enormous  cracks,  twenty  to  thirty  feet  deep,  and 
from  five  to  ten  feet  wide,  opened  in  all  directions  upon  its 
surface,  and  the  subsidence  was  more  rapid  in  some  spots  than 
in  others,  but  in  almost  all  cases  the  progress  of  action  was 
gradual,  although  the  shattered  and  chaotic  appearance  of  the 
rocks  made  it  look  as  though  nothing  but  a  tremendous  con- 
vulsion could  have  brought  it  about. 

"Another  noticeable  incident  was  the  almost  entire  absence 
of  sulphurous  vapors,  no  difficulty  in  breathing  being  expe- 
rienced directly  to  leeward  of  the  lake. 

"At  nine  o'clock  the  next  morning  the  lake  was  found  to 
have  sunk  some  twenty  feet  more :  the  banks  at  the  right  and 
left  of  the  subsiding  area,  which  had  been  the  chief  points  of 
observation  the  day  before,  had  disappeared  into  the  lake  for 
distances  varying  from  twenty-five  to  one  hundred  feet  back 
from  the  former  edge,  and  the  lower  half  of  the  debris  slope 
had  been  swallowed  up  in  the  lake,  disclosing  the  original 


240 

smooth  black  wall  of  the  lake  beneath  at  a  considerable  over- 
hanging" angle. 

"At  the  level  of  the  lake,  and  half  filled  by  it,  was  a  great 
cavern  extending  in  a  southeasterly  direction  from  the  lake. 
The  dimensions  were  apparently  seventy-five  feet  across  and 
fifteen  feet  from  the  surface  of  the  lake  to  the  roof  of  the  cave. 
It  could  be  looked  into  from  the  opposite  bank  for  about  fifty 
feet.  This  may  have  been  the  duct  through  which  the  lava 
had  been  drained,  although  it  manifestly  was  not  at  the  bot- 
tom of  the  lake,  for  up  to  July  i6th,  that  had  continued  to 
rise  and  fall  from  five  to  ten  feet  a  day,  and  constantly  threw 
up  fountains,  somewhat  more  actively  than  before  its  sub- 
sidence. The  entire  area  of  subsidence  is  estimated  to  be  a  lit- 
tle less  than  eight  acres,  about  one-half  of  which  fell  into  the 
lake. 

''While  the  break-down  was  taking  place  there  were  many 
slight  tremors  of  the  banks,  generally  resulting  in  the  precipi- 
tate retreat  of  the  observers  from  the  edge,  but  although  the 
danger  was  great  the  spectacle  was  so  grand  and  fascinating 
that  the  party  returned  again  and  again  to  watch  it. 

"At  the  Volcano  House  two  slight  earthquakes  were  felt 
on  the  afternoon  of  the  nth  and  one  vigorous  one  at  2  A.  M. 
on  the  I2th.  During  the  week  several  slight  shocks  were  felt 
in  the  town  of  Hilo,  thirty  miles  away,  yet  none  were  felt  at 
Olaa,  half-way  between,  nor  at  Kapapala  fifteen  miles  in  the 
opposite  direction,  although  the  latter  is  a  place  peculiarly 
susceptible  to  earthquakes." 

Plate  43  is  a  ground  plan  and  section  of  the  lake  July  30, 
modified  somewhat  from  the  sketch  made  by  F.  S.  Dodge  in 
the  record  book.  The  thickness  of  the  lava  escaping  proves 
to  be  three  hundred  and  nineteen  feet,  and  its  level  after  the 
collapse  six  hundred  and  four  feet.  The  acreage  of  Hale- 
maumau  is  put  at  23.67:  of  the  lake  13.65. 

Statement  of  W.  F.  Frear.  July  24  to  August  4.  Lake 
active.  "Old  Faithful"  playing  once  or  twice  a  minute,  com- 
ing up  each  time  as  one,  two,  or  three  large  bubbles,  and  then 
being  quiet  till  the  next  burst,  the  other  fountains  four  to  six 
generally  at  a  time,  playing  often  several  minutes  before  quiet- 
ing down.  Old  Faithful  apparently  held  the  same  place  in 
March,  1892,  for  four  different  days. 

Three  points  of  special  interest,  i.  Change  in  the  height 
of  the  lake.  This  and  the  place  of  the  walls  believed  to  be 
essentially  the  same  after  the  drop  of  July  n  and  on  July  24, 
but  changed  after  July  27.  2.  Falling  of  the  walls  July  28-29, 
when  the  lake  fell  about  fifteen  feet.  Aug.  2  there  was  more 


PLATE  43. 


U] 


V.  H 


Ground  Plan  and  Section  of  Halemaumau,  July  30,    1894. 


241 

falling,  and  two  days  later  the  lake  fell  twenty  feet  more. 
3.  New  islands  appeared;  one  having  the  shape  of  an  angle, 
flat,  with  its  greatest  length  one  hundred  and  thirty  feet. 
Another  of  oval  shape  Aug.  4,  twenty  or  thirty  feet  long,  ten 
or  twelve  feet  high. 

This  account  is  supplementary  to  the  history  of  the  collapse. 
During  the  time  of  the  greatest  activity  the  great  heat  of  the 
lava  made  it  necessary  for  visitors  to  view  the  proceedings, 
from  Uwekahuna. 

THE  BREAKDOWN  OF  1894  AS  DESCRIBED  BY  S.  E.  BILHOP, 

In  the  issue  of  Nature  for  September  4,  1902,  Dr.  S.  E. 
Bishop  presents  his  views  of  the  changes  in  Kilauea  in  1892-4: 

The  recent  destructive  eruption  in  Martinique  has  revived 
interest  in  the  question  of  the  causes  of  volcanic  action.  Only 
lately  have  I  become  sensible  of  the  peculiar  value  of  some 
observations  of  my  own  as  evidence  of  the  primary  force  which 
impels  the  ascent  of  lava  from  its  interior  habitat,  as  distin- 
guished from  the  explosive  violence  caused  by  steam  generated 
by  the  encounter  of  the  ascending  lava  with  ocean  and,  other 
surface  waters. 

I  have  long  believed  the  primary  force  to  reside  in  the  ex- 
pansion of  the  gases  originally  occluded  in  the  magma,  ever 
since  its  first  condensation  from  the  nebula.  Whenever  re- 
leased from  solidifying  pressure  by  disturbances  of  the  super- 
incumbent crust,  the  intensely  hot  magma  bursts  into  a  viscid 
foam  and  pushes  upwards.  In  a  quiet  volcano  like  our  Kilauea, 
meeting  no  water  to  generate  explosive  steam,  the  lava  wells 
up  continuously  and  steadily  in  a  comparatively  gentle  foun- 
tain, which  displays  effervescence  only  on  the  surface. 

In  support  of  this  opinion  I  beg  to  offer  positive  evidence 
contained  in  certain  facts  observed  by  myself  in  Kilauea  dur- 
ing April  8-14,  1892,  and  on  August  28,  1894.  The  volcano  had 
been  in  very  steady  and  uniform  action  for  nearly  two  years 
before  the  earlier  date,  and  so  continued  until  a  short  time 
after  the  latter  date,  or  nearly  five  years  in  all  of  a  quiet,  con- 
tinuous and  rather  copious  welling  up  of  lava,  wholly  unat- 
tended by  any  explosive  action. 

On  the  earlier  date  I  carefully  observed  the  then  existing 
lava-lake  during  six  successive  days.  This  lake  occupied  the 
center  of  the  inner  crater,  called  Hale-a-mau-mau,  or  Fern- 
hut.  The  main  crater  called  Kilauea  is  nine  miles  in  circum- 
ference, averaging  four  hundred  feet  in  depth,  and  rather  un- 
evenly floored  with  recent  lava.  Southwest  of  the  center  is  the 


242 

inner  pit  of  Hale-a-mau-mau.  This  pit  was  at  that  time  nearly 
circular  and  2,400  feet  in  diameter,  with  vertical  sides  averag- 
ing one  hundred  and  fifty  feet  down  to  the  talus.  Before  the 
welling  up  of  lava  began  in  1890,  the  pit  had  been  about  700 
feet  deep.  In  two  years  the  lava  had  risen  four  hundred  feet, 
and  stood  within  three  hundred  feet  of  the  rim  and  main  floor. 

A  lake  of  liquid  lava,  covered  by  a  thin,  spongy  film,  occu- 
pied the  center  of  the  pit.  This  lake  was  nearly  circular, 
averaging  850  feet  in  diameter.  It  was  bordered  by  a  low 
dyke,  which  partially  restrained  its  frequent  overflows.  Out- 
side the  dyke,  freshly  congealed  lava  sloped  away  to  the  talus. 
Ey  day  the  crust-film  was  grey  to  the  eye,  but  by  night  a  deep 
red.  It  was  traversed  by  numerous  fissures  of  white  fire. 
During  the  whole  time  three  fountains  of  lava  were  welling  up 
with  somewhat  regular  intermittence,  and  three  smaller  ones 
at  irregular  intervals.  There  was  no  explosive  action  what- 
ever. 

The  largest  fountain  was  about  one  hundred  and  twenty  feet 
southeast  of  the  center  of  the  lake.  It  played  with  great  regu- 
larity about  three  times  in  a  minute,  rising  in  a  round  billow 
twenty-five  feet  high  and  fifty  feet  in  diameter,  bursting  at  the 
top  and  falling  back  to  level,  its  discharge  moving  in  a  broad 
stream  towards  the  center  of  the  lake.  The  fling  of  spray  from 
its  summit  rose  to  forty  or  fifty  feet  above  the  level. 

West  of  this  central  fountain  were  two  others  of  very  dif- 
ferent character,  being  more  spasmodic  in  activity,  but  never 
long  quiet.  Occasionally  they  would  unite  their  forces  for 
half  an  hour  at  a  time,  forming  a  stationary  line  of  one  hun- 
dred and  thirty  feet  of  spraying  billow  much  like  a  surf-comber 
with  flying  spray.  This  stationary  surf-wave  was  fifteen  feet 
high,  incessantly  flinging  its  spray  ten  feet  higher  along  its 
whole  length.  In  the  night,  the  effect  of  these  fountains  was 
extremely  brilliant  and  was  attended  by  loud  metallic  crashing. 

The  other  three  fountains  were  smaller,  near  the  borders  of 
the  lake,  and  often  quiet  for  hours  together. 

During  the  thirty  months'  interval  between  my  two  visits, 
the  gradual  elevation  of  the  fire-lake  continued  quite  uni- 
formly, as  attested  by  occasional  photographs.  By  its  fre- 
quent overflows  it  had  built  itself  up  to  a  height  of  fully  fifty 
feet  above  the  previous  main  floor  of  Kilauea,  so  that  it  formed 
an  extremely  low  truncated  cone,  surmounted  by  the  level 
lake,  to  the  edge  of  which  visitors  daily  approached. 

About  March,  1894,  a  recession  began,  which  ended  in  a  final 
collapse  of  activity.  The  lake  soon  sank  some  hundreds  of 
'feet,  carrying  with  it  the  sides  of  a  circular  pit,  about  1,400 


243 

feet  in  diameter,  and  central  to  the  original  2,4OO-foot  pit. 
When  I  saw  it  in  the  following  September,  the  fire-lake  was 
not  less  than  five  hundred  feet  below  the  rim.  During  the 
evening,  masses  of  rock  frequently  crashed  in,  driving  heavy 
surges  of  fire  far  up  the  talus.  There  was  a  good  deal  of 
steam-cloud  slowly  rising,  charged  with  sulphur.  During  my 
previous  visit,  all  vapour  had  seemed  to  be  absent,  and  I  made 
the  circuit  of  the  pit  without  encountering  sulphur.  Sub- 
sequent photographs  had  also  indicated  the  absence  of  vapor 
from  the  lake. 

I  now  have  to  add  an  important  observation.  To  my  great 
surprise,  at  this  last  visit,  I  perceived  that  the  three  fountains 
above  described  were  in  full  activity  and  in  the  same  relative 
position  as  before,  although  during  the  thirty  months  the  level 
of  the  lake  had  risen  three  hundred  and  fifty  feet  and  had  then 
fallen  five  hundred  feet.  By  what  system  of  supply-ducts  such 
fountains  had  been  so  long  maintained  was  a  mystery  con- 
cealed in  the  fire-depths.  But  the  fact  of  a  marvelous  steadi- 
ness and  uniformity  of  action  was  obvious.  For  a  long  period 
a  uniform  and  gentle  outpour  of  effervescence  had  been  main- 
tained. It  has  persisted  for  two  years  and  a  half,  throughout 
all  the  immense  changes. 

I  submit  as  the  unavoidable  conclusion  that  the  source  of 
supply  for  this  five  years'  outpour  of  gently  effervescing  lava 
was  in  an  interior  magma  which  itself  contained  the  impelling 
force  in  its  own  originally  occluded  gases.  For  its  activity 
this  source  was  wholly  independent  of  any  encounter  with 
water  to  generate  steam.  Expanding  steam  evidently  had  no 
part  in  that  steady,  quiet,  persistent  activity  in  the  fire-lake  of 
Kilauea. 

I  would  add  that  the  exceptionally  quiet  and  uniform  activ- 
ity of  Kilauea  seems  to  render  it  one  of  the  most  important 
of  all  volcanoes  for  study.  I  regret  to  say  that  since  the  col- 
lapse nearly  eight  years  ago  no  lava  has  appeared  in  the  crater, 
except  a  small  quantity  last  June,  which  has  again  gone  out 
of  sight. 

KILAUEA  AFTER  1894. 

For  several  years  the  volcano  was  quiet. 

Sept.  16,  1894.  There  was  a  lake  deep  down,  visible  only 
at  intervals  because  of  vapors.  W.  J.  Forbes  and  David 
Thrum. 

Dec.  6.     The  fire  in  the  crater  quietly  disappeared  in  the 

night.    J.  M.  Lee. 


244 

Jan.  3,  1896.  Lava  flowed  from  a  hole  two  hundred  and 
fifty  feet  above  the  extreme  bottom  of  the  pit  and  accumulated 
in  a  pool  two  hundred  and  fifty  by  two  hundred  feet  in  size. 
Depth  estimated  at  four  hundred  and  fifty  feet.  Peter  Lee. 

Fire  disappeared  again  Jan.  28. 

May  1 8.  Fire  extinct,  though  vast  clouds  of  steam  pour 
out.  H.  M.  Whitney. 

July  ii.  Lake  measured  one  hundred  and  fifty  by  one  hun- 
dred feet.  Lava  from  the  hole  as  before.  This  lake  disap- 
peared after  a  duration  of  three  weeks. 

July  28-31.  English  geologist,  W.  D.  B.  says,  Crater,  1,500 
feet  across ;  depth  to  fire,  six  hundred  and  fifty  to  six  hundred 
and  seventy  feet ;  diameters  three  hundred  and  thirty  to  four 
hundred  and  thirty  feet.  Lava  both  rose  and  fell  thirty  feet. 
Small  cone  twenty  feet  high  at  northeast  corner  throwing 
out  lava  and  vapors.  Spectroscope  showed  faintly  the  lines  of 
sodium  and  hydrogen,  but  not  of  iron  or  gases.  Degree  of 
heat  far  below  that  given  by  Dana. 

Aug.  26.  A.  L.  Colsten  collects  data  for  map.  His  plan  of 
Halemaumau  is  shown  in  Plate  44A.  His  letters  A.  D.  correspond 
to  B.  A.  of  an  earlier  plate.  E  is  the  place  for  viewing  the 
fire  pit.  X  Y  Z,  are  the  blow-holes.  B  and  C  are  points  of 
view  on  the  south  side.  The  fire  lake  is  seven  hundred  and 
fifty-seven  feet,  like  all  the  others,  so  much  below  the  Vol- 
cano House  as  the  datum  point.  A  is  two  hundred  and  seven- 
ty-six, other  points  on  the  edge  of  the  sunken  pit  two  hundred 
and  eighty-two,  two  hundred  and  seventy-five,  two  hundred 
and  seventy-two ;  the  blow-holes,  X,  Y,  Z,  two  hundred  and 
sixty-eight,  two  hundred  and  sixty-nine,  two  hundred  and 
seventy-two ;  E,  two  hundred  and  seventy.  D  beyond  Dry 
Lake  two  hundred  and  fifty-seven,  two  hundred  and  sixty. 
C,  two  hundred  and  seventy-five ;  within  the  sunken  pit  three 
hundred  and  forty-two,  five  hundred  and  fifty-nine ;  upon  its 
inner  edge,  two  hundred  seventy-four,  three  hundred  and  six. 
Area  of  the  pit  24.40  acres ;  of  the  lake,  3.41  acres.  The  spout- 
ing cone  is  thirty-two  feet  high,  throwing  up  lava  spray  one 
hundred  feet.  The  hachure  lines  show  well  the  fact  that  Hale- 
maumau is  at  the  top  of  a  shallow  cone. 

June  24,  1897.  A  little  fire.  Lasted  for  three  days.  J.  M. 
Lee. 

Jan.  14,  1898.     Not  a  sign  of  life.     Frank  Godfrey. 

Feb.  25,  1899.     Excursion  party  report  no  activity. 

March  26,  1899,  the  Hon.  L.  A.  Thurston  writes,  the  outer 
rim  of  the  pit  is  the  same  as  that  figured  in  1894,  being  by 
estimate  eight  hundred  feet  deep,  one  hundred  and  fifty  feet 


245 

in  diameter  at  the  bottom.  A  pit  formed  March  24th,  in  which 
no  bottom  can  be  seen.  There  is  a  steep  vertical  wall  on  the 
north  side  for  three  hundred  feet  down.  On  the  south  side  the 
vertical  wall  extends  about  six  hundred  feet  down,  before  com- 
ing to  the  debris.  At  the  opening  of  March  24th  a  loud  noise 
was  heard ;  a  great  cloud  of  dust  arouse,  produced  probably  by 
a  slide. 

Prior  to  the  filling  of  the  pit  a  dense  cloud  of  smoke  was 
pouring  out  of  it.  It  ceased  almost  entirely  after  the  slide. 
The  heat-crack  parallel  with  and  four  hundred  feet  distant 
from  the  north  wall  of  Halemaumau  has  greatly  increased  in 
heat  since  December  last  when  I  last  saw  it.  It  is  sizzling 
hot  a  foot  back  from  the  edge  and  shows  a  cherry  red  about 
twenty  feet  down.  This  is  the  first  fire  seen  in  the  crater  since 
June  24,  1897. 

In  June  and  July,  1899,  I  inspected  the  pit  and  its  surround- 
ings. Because  of  a  constant  dense  cloud  of  steam  and  vapors 
the  bottom  could  not  be  seen.  In  an  opening  a  short  distance 
to  the  north  of  the  pit,  it  was  possible  to  descend  and  observe 
the  formation  of  small  stalactites  and  incrustations  of  gypsum 
in  a  temperature  suggestive  of  140°  F. ;  and  an  eighth  of  a  mile 
farther  northerly  was  a  larger  similar  opening,  though  less  hot. 
Paper  could  easily  be  ignited  in  cracks  near  by. 

March  2,  1900.  There  was  a  breakdown  filling  the  "bot- 
tomless pit"  and  some  fire.  L.  A.  Thurston. 

September.  W.  M.  O'Shaughnessy.  Smoke  predominates 
Observed  altitudes  as  follows :  Where  the  road  from  the  Vol- 
cano House  reaches  the  lava  four  hundred  and  sixty-five ;  half- 
way to  Halemaumau,  four  hundred  and  fifteen ;  higher  edge  of 
Halemaumau  two  hundred  and  seventy;  depth  of  the  pit  not 
attainable. 

June  6,  1901.  A  visitor  lighted  a  stick  in  a  crack  some 
twelve  feet  down. 

June  27.  D.  S.  Jordan  and  party  saw  glowing  lava  deep 
down  in  one  of  the  cracks. 

CONDITIONS  IN  1902  AND  LATER. 

After  a  long  season  of  quiet  slight  activity  is  resumed.  Hon. 
L.  A.  Thurston  writes  in  the  Record  Book  of  the  Volcano  House, 
February  I4th,  as  follows: 

The  outlines  of  the  pit  of  Halemaumau  are  essentially  the  same 
as  when  last  reported  (1900).  Very  little  sulphur  vapor  arises 
from  two  or  three  spots  on  the  north  and  east  sides.  There  is  a 
clearlv  defined  recent  flow  of  black  lava  at  the  extreme  bottom  of 


246 

the  pit,  the  first  in  several  years.  The  heat  crack  on  the  north 
side  is  hotter  than  ever  before. 

The  same  writes  June  12 : 

The  debris  on  the  north  side  of  the  pit  has  dropped  down. 
Dense  sulphur  vapor  rises  from  the  extreme  bottom  of  the  pit 
and  fills  it  so  completely  that  nothing  can  be  seen  for  much  of  the 
time.  Two  hundred  feet  from  the  bottom  of  the  east  side  there 
is  a  bright  light,  seemingly  emanating  from  fresh  lava  in  a  cave. 
The  lava  seen  February  I4th  has  been  covered  by  debris.  Ap- 
parently the  action  in  the  pit  is  the  beginning  of  its  filling  up. 
Steam  still  rises  from  the  big  cracks  running  from  Keanakakoi 
towards  Kau,  although  they  are  nearly  filled  with  drift  sand  and 
pumice  stone. 

August  25,  10  P.  M.,  Mr.  Waldron  says  a  lake  four  hundred 
feet  in  diameter  has  just  formed  in  the  bottom  of  Halemaumau 
on  the  Kau  side.  It  has  the  shape  of  an  irregular  quadrilateral. 
There  was  no  earthquake  here,  but  there  were  shocks  at  Hilo  at 
ii  145  P.  M.,  August  24th ;  at  3  P.  M.  the  25th  and  3 115  A.  M.  the 
26th. 

September  12,  Hon.  L.  A.  Thurston  says:  The  new  lake  has 
subsided  leaving  a  black  ledge  one  hundred  to  one  hundred  and 
fifty  feet  above  the  present  bottom.  From  this  ledge  down  to  the 
bottom  it  is  black  with  new  lava.  There  is  a  sulphur  steam  jet 
on  the  west  side.  No  fire  is  visible  in  the  daytime,  but  it  can  be 
seen  at  night.  Later  in  the  day  there  was  a  heavy  breakdown 
of  the  western  wall,  causing  the  rise  of  a  great  cloud  of  reddish 
vapor. 

Sept.  17,  T.  M.  Chatard  says  that  on  the  night  of  the  I5th 
instant  there' were  a  number  of  fire  fountains;  the  hardened  crust 
broke  and  dissolved,  while  the  lava  flows  were  large  enough  to 
show  the  manner  of  action. 

Whitman  Cross,  of  the  United  States  Geological  Survey,  has 
put  on  record  at  the  Volcano  House  the  behavior  of  Halemaumau 
between  October  2Oth  and  27th.  "On  Monday,  the  2Oth  instant, 
there  were  almost  no  signs  of  activity.  The  lava  flow  produced 
by  earlier  action  was  recognizable.  With  a  tape  line  parallel 
tangents  to  the  circular  outline  of  the  crater  were  drawn,  which 
were  1,500  feet  apart,  representing  the  diameter.  The  depth  to 
the  consolidated  lava  was  estimated  to  be  eight  hundred  and 
twenty-five  feet;  and  the  north-south  diameter  of  the  same  was 
five  hundred  and  seventy-five  feet.  The  vertical  wall  on  the  south 
was  deeper  than  upon  the  opposite  side,  while  in  the  first  case 
there  was  a  gradual  slope  to  the  lava  floor,  on  the  other  side  the 
slope  was  higher  up  and  connected  two  walls.  On  the  north  edge 


247 

of  the  lake  there  was  a  blow  hole  or  spatter  cone  about  twelve  feet 
high  exhibiting  two  small  glowing  spots,  and  sulphurous  fumes 
arose  from  the  cone  without  noise.  October  23d  there  was  a 
sound  of  escaping  gas  from  the  blow  hole,  like  the  sharp  puffs  of 
a  locomotive  getting  under  headway;  they  were  irregular  though 
often  strenuous.  At  3  P.  M.  a  part  of  the  top  of  the  cone  was 
blown  off,  followed  by  the  sound  of  thrashing  and  surging  lava. 
At  every  throb  splashes  of  lava  were  thrown  out  of  the  orifice 
and  the  cone  grew  rapidly.  At  3  135  P.  M.  the  whole  northwest 
side  of  the  mound  was  broken  down  and  a  torrent  of  lava  burst 
out  like  water  from  a  pipe.  The  flow  was  steady  with  occasional 
spurts  throwing  small  masses  a  few  feet  into  the  air. 

"The  lava  was  liquid,  red-hot  changing  to  dull  red  and  black  as 
the  crust  formed,  and  as  it  spread  out  the  domes  and  ropy  lines 
so  characteristic  of  the  general  floor  of  Kilauea  made  their  ap- 
pearance. By  5  P.  M.  the  flow  had  covered  half  of  the  floor.  At 
7  P.  M.  the  whole  floor  was  covered  and  the  liquid  still  continued 
to  gush  out ;  then  it  decreased  and  new  spatter  cones  were  built 
up,  with  orifices  by  9  P.  M.,  from  which  jets  of  lava  were  occa- 
sionally thrown  out. 

"The  new  lava  lake  exhibited  during  this  evening  the  common 
phenomena  so  often  described.  Cracks  formed  in  the  dull  crust, 
lava  pushed  out  in  sheets  or  tongues,  plates  of  the  crust  turned 
up  and  sunk  in  the  molten  lake  beneath.  The  illumination  was 
often  brilliant,  and  all  the  conditions  combined  to  make  the  scene 
grand  and  impressive.  On  October  24th  there  was  no  flow ;  the 
floor  was  so  solidified  that  fracturing  and  extrusion  of  lava  was 
rare  and  of  small  extent.  At  the  blow  hole  there  was  frequently 
repeated  the  process  of  sealing  up  the  orifice  by  viscous  matter, 
then  a  bursting  out,  making  a  new  hole,  which  would  be  sealed 
up  again  in  an  hour  or  two." 

"On  the  evening  of  the  25th  the  strong  glow  indicated  action, 
and  there  was  another  thin  flow  over  the  sheet  of  the  23d.  The 
spatter  cone  remained  on  the  north  side  and  no  other  vent  could 
be  seen.  The  action  was  that  of  sealing  up  and  bursting  again, 
without  any  discharge.  On  the  27th  just  before  daylight  a  bright 
glow  was  noted  over  Halemaumau,  which  was  occasioned  by  an- 
other thin  flow." 

The  three  flows  recorded  built  up  the  inside  mass,  perhaps 
twenty-five  feet.  He  supposes  the  process  of  filling  up  Halemau- 
mau will  be  continued  in  a  similar  manner,  unless  relief  be  found 
by  an  outbreak  of  the  lava  at  some  lower  level,  as  has  often  been 
the  case  in  the  past  history  of  the  volcano. 


248 

In  the  Hawaiian  Gazette  for  November  i8th,  appears  a  further 
report  of  the  display  for  a  week  commencing  November  7th. 

Friday,  November  7 :     Cone  spitting  fire  only ;  no  flow. 

Saturday  and  Sunday:     No  change. 

Monday,  November  10:  At  2  A.  M.  fountain  commenced  to 
play. 

Tuesday :  Today  the  action  is  stronger  than  it  has  been  during 
the  present  outbreak;  cone  blown  to  pieces,  and  a  geyser  spout- 
ing fire  twenty  feet  high  and  about  as  wide,  forming  a  lake  from 
bank  to  bank  of  liquid  lava,  which  is  about  six  hundred  feet 
across :  this  action  continued  all  day  and  night. 

Wednesday  and  Thursday,  November  12,  13:  The  action  con- 
tinues as  strong  as  ever,  building  up  the  lava  lake  very  rapidly. 
The  lowest  floor  of  the  pit  has  risen  one  hundred  feet  since  Octo- 
ber 20.  These  were  wireless  messages  from  the  Volcano  House 
to  Mr.  Richard  Trent. 

In  the  same  issue  a  diagram  is  given  representing  the  dimen- 
sions of  the  pit,  and  the  amount  of  the  filling  since  June  1st.  The 
breadth  of  the  pit,  1,500  feet.  Depth,  June  i,  1,000  feet.  Level 
of  the  lava  October  20,  one  hundred  and  seventy-five  feet  above 
the  bottom.  November  13,  level  of  the  lava  two  hundred  and 
seventy-five  feet  above  the  bottom,  seven  hundred  and  twenty- 
five  feet  below  the  surface  of  Halemaumau. 

From  Thrum's  Annual  for  1903,  the  report  for  1902  is  con- 
firmatory of  the  preceding  statements.  On  the  evening  of  August 
25th,  lava  suddenly  appeared  in  the  pit,  accompanied  by  earth- 
quakes of  nearly  the  same  date  at  Hilo.  Then  it  was  quiet  till 
September  igth.  Another  manifestation  showed  itself  October 
nth.  Measurements  proved  that  the  lava  had  risen  one  hundred 
and  seventy-five  feet  since  June ;  the  pit  in  September  being  eight 
hundred  and  sixty  feet  in  depth  and  about  two  hundred  across. 
On  the  night  of  October  23d  three,  and  occasionally  four  foun- 
tains of  lava  spouted  up  from  below.  November  loth  the  entire 
floor  of  Halemaumau  was  a  mass  of  molten  lava  throwing  up 
geyser-like  streams. 

The  Hawaiian  Star  of  March  13,  1903,  prints  an  anonymous 
statement  that  there  was  a  manifestation  of  molten  lava  about 
fifty  feet  wide  in  the  bottom  of  Halemaumau. 

June  21,  1903,  Hon.  W.  R.  Castle  states  that  the  conditions 
were  very  much  the  same  that  he  saw  in  1874,  except  a  filling 
up  by  fresh  lava  for  about  three  hundred  feet.  Total  depth  esti- 
mated to  be  seven  hundred  and  fifty  to  eight  hundred  feet.  He 
adds :  "The  time  has  come  when  the  United  States  Government 
might  well  reserve  the  whole  region  of  Mokuaweoweo  to  the  sea 


249 

at  Puna ;  a  long  narrow  strip  to  include  Kilauea  and  the  line  of 
pit  craters;  a  comparatively  worthless  tract  of  country  commer- 
cially. It  should  also  include  the  Koa  tree  moulds  at  Kuapaa- 
wela,  where  a  forest  of  giant  trees  was  surrounded  by  a  deep  flow 
of  later  age." 

August  23  :  Clouds  of  smoke  are  ascending  from  the  pit.  Fol- 
lowing this  date  all  was  quiet  for  a  long  time. 

November  25 :  Halemaumau  is  in  action.  There  was  a  glow 
at  4:15  A.  M.,  when  a  lake  formed,  forty  by  one  hundred  and 
twenty-five  feet,  in  the  bottom  of  the  crater.  Fountains  of  fire 
showed  themselves,  and  the  other  phenomena  customarily  ob- 
servable in  their  company.  Remained  active  till  Jan.  10,  1904. 

In  1903  a  new  survey  of  Kilauea  was  made  under  the  auspices 
of  the  Bishop  Museum.  A  relief  of  the  volcano  upon  the  scale 
of  one  hundred  and  thirty  feet  to  the  inch  has  been  prepared  by 
William  Alanson  Bryan  and  placed  on  exhibition.  It  is  the  most 
effective  illustration  of  the  volcano  ever  displayed;  and  it  is  un- 
derstood that  the  earlier  survey  of  Dr.  Brigham  in  1865  was 
found  to  be  accurate.  The  explanatory  text  represents  that  the 
complete  area  of  Kilauea  as  portrayed  in  the  relief  amounts  to 
2,650  acres;  the  circumference  7.85  miles;  extreme  length  15,500 
feet  or  2.93  miles.  The  most  noticeable  change  in  the  representa- 
tion is  the  emphatic  manifestation  of  a  greater  altitude  to  the 
east  of  Kilauea  iki.  All  previous  restorations  have  made  the 
land  to  fall  off  towards  the  sea  (makai).  The  exact  figures  ^are 
not  given  save  as  they  are  embodied  in  the  model. 

August  13-17,  1904:  Professor  G.  H.  Barton  visited  the  vol- 
cano with  a  company  of  tourists,  and  compares  the  present  state 
of  inactivity  with  the  brilliant  displays  he  had  seen  twenty-two 
years  earlier. 

1904 :  Hon.  L.  A.  Thurston  writes  thus  November  8th :  There 
have  been  only  slight  changes  since  September  12,  1902.  Cracks 
along  the  outer  rim  of  the  pit  have  widened,  and  the  approaches 
seem  more  dangerous  than  ever  before.  No  fire  nor  steam  ap- 
pears in  the  pit,  but  there  is  a  considerable  sulphur  vapor  from 
the  extreme  bottom.  A  new  path  has  been  made  around  Kilauea 
iki  for  which  he  suggests  the  name  Echo  trail — for  five  distinct 
echoes  can  be  heard  from  the  west  bank  of  Keanakakoi. 

THE  DISPLAYS  IN  1905. 

New  interest  has  been  manifested  in  Kilauea  in  1905  because 
of  renewed  activity.  At  the  opening  of  the  year  Halemaumau 
was  a  lifeless  pit  over  eight  hundred  feet  deep,  whose  floor  con- 
consisted  of  the  cooled  overflows,  last  seen  November  25,  1903. 


250 

February  24th  fresh  lava  appeared  on  one  side  near  the  bottom, 
flowing  down  to  the  lowest  point.  After  four  days  of  display  it 
was  covered  up  by  a  slide  of  debris.  Fire  was  again  seen  March 
3d  and  March  2oth.  On  March  3Oth  several  fiery  spots  were  re- 
ported. April  i8th,  at  the  depth  of  six  hundred  and  fifty  feet, 
there  was  special  activity;  fountains  were  playing  continually  ac- 
companied by  large  volumes  of  red-hot  lava. 

May  i,  1905.  L.  A.  Thurston.  A  blow  hole  on  the  north  side 
has  flowed  out  over  the  bottom  of  the  pit,  making  a  platform  five 
hundred  feet  in  diameter.  It  was  exploding  at  intervals  of  several 
minutes  throwing  spatter  lava  thirty  to  forty  feet.  The  pit  has 
filled  a  considerable  since  November,  being  now  five  to  six  hun- 
dred feet  deep.  The  southern  bank  continues  to  fall  in. 

The  history  for  the  ensuing  four  months  has  been  an  alterna- 
tion of  fiery  discharges  and  a  cooling  surface.  July  24th  to  26th, 
the  depth  of  the  pit  was  estimated  by  myself  to  be  about  six  hun- 
dred feet.  About  every  third  night  the  displays  of  fire  are  ex- 
ceptionally brilliant.  The  place  of  the  discharge  shifts  constant- 
ly from  one  edge  to  another.  Those  that  I  saw  were  on  the  north, 
west  and  south  edges.  The  latest  report  given  to  me  was  of  a 
brilliant  display  on  the  nights  of  August  I2th  and  I3th. 

Sept.  18,  1905.  L.  A.  Thurston.  Very  little  change  since 
May  i,  except  that  the  pit  has  filled  a  little  more  and  the  vapor 
has  increased,  rising  from  two  cones  on  the  northeast  side  of  the 
pit.  No  fire  visible  nor  noise  heard  in  the  pit.  Bank  on  south- 
west side  has  caved  in  considerably  since  May.  Smoke  very 
dense,  light  brown  in  color,  with  very  little  sulphur. 

I  find  in  the  Hawaiian  Gazette  for  March  13,  1906,  the  follow- 
ing: 

The  fires  of  Kilauea  are  still  in  evidence  (by  wireless  tele- 
graph). Volcano  House,  March  12.  Last  night  our  party  sat 
on  the  edge  of  Kilauea,  fascinated  by  the  display  of  fire  which 
burned  for  hours.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Waddell,  Edna  Lloyd. 

Dec.  2,  1906,  fire  appears  in  Halemaumau.  E.  D.  Baldwin 
reports  two  small  lakes,  mostly  cooled  over,  the  one  six  hundred 
and  two  and  the  other  five  hundred  and  ninety-seven  feet  below 
the  edge  of  the  pit.  Near  the  center  of  the  western  lake  a  small 
cone  sputtered  lava  occasionally,  with  loud  reports  of  escaping 
steam,  which  at  times  sounded  like  rifle  shots.  The  surface  would 
crack,  and  considerable  lava  flow  out.  The  action  in  the  east  lake 
was  much  the  same.  There  was  no  sputtering  cone,  but  steam 
escaped  under  the  east  bank  with  noisy  outbursts.  The  smaller 
spot  to  the  south  is  nearly  cool. 


PLATE  44. 


A.     Plan  of  the  core  of  Ha!erp.-ii-^'u. 


/9O6 


vfter  £.D.Betldi 


B.      Plan  of  Halemc.umau,   December,    1906. 


251 

» 
KILAUEA   IN   1907. 

/ 

Jan.  27,  1907,  F.  S.  Dodge  reports  that  the  lava  had  rilled  up 
the  pit  to  the  level  of  four  hundred  and  fifty  feet  from  the  top, 
occupying  an  area  of  nine  acres.  Plate  446  is  copied  from  a  plan 
made  by  E.  D.  Baldwin,  Dec.  26,  1906,  showing  the  appearances 
then  visible,  and  the  relative  positions  of  Halemaumau  in  1886, 
1892  and  1906.  And  upon  one  side  the  pit  of  Dec.  2,  with  its  two 
lakes,  the  filling  up  to  four  hundred  and  fifty  feet,  Jan.  27,  1907, 
and  up  to  one  hundred  and  ninety  feet  as  seen  July  26,  1908. 

Hon.  L.  A.  Thurston  spent  a  month  in  Hawaii,  and  under  date 
of  April  23,  reports  as  follows  in  the  Hawiiian  Gazette  concern- 
ing the  volcano : 

I  visited  the  crater  three  times.  It  is  more  active  than  it  has 
been  at  any  time  since  the  formation  of  the  present  pit  in  July, 
1894.  The  pit  has  filled  to  within  about  three  hundred  and  fifty 
feet  of  the  top.  There  is  a  molten  lake  about  four  hundred  feet 
long  by  two  hundred  feet  wide.  During  the  interval  between 
1 1  A.  M.  and  3  P.  M.  one  day,  about  ten  days  ago,  this  lake  over- 
flowed its  banks  bodily,  three  times,  the  congealed  lava  crust  being 
swept  over  the  banks  in  a  crimson  flood,  the  surface  of  the  lake 
rising  and  overflowing  in  a  mass  approximately  one  hundred  feet 
wide.  In  addition  to  this  there  were  from  two  to  ten  molten  lava 
flows  continuously  issuing  from  the  banks  and  flowing  to  the 
lower  portion  of  the  pit.  At  the  present  rate  of  filling,  the  Hale- 
maumau pit,  which  was  nearly  a  thousand  feet  deep  three  years 
ago,  will  be  filled  within  the  year,  and  the  condition  which  existed 
in  1894,  a  molten  lake  higher  than  the  surrounding  country,  will 
be  repeated. 

May  2  ist  and  22d,  the  volcano  was  inspected  by  the  Congres- 
sional party  which  visited  the  Islands  under  the  auspices  of  the 
Territorial  Government.  Twenty-eight  members  of  Congress 
with  their  friends  had  accepted  the  hospitalities  of  the  islands. 
Pele  was  in  one  of  her  quiescent  moods,  but  the  scene  was  im- 
pressive and  grand  enough  to  satisfy  their  anticipations.  A  novel 
experience  consisted  in  the  serving  of  a  dinner  to  the  visitors 
where  toothsome  viands  had  been  cooked  by  the  heat  supplied 
from  the  depths.  After  the  dinner  the  health  of  Madame  Pele 
was  proposed  by  Hon.  L.  A.  Thurston,  who  recited  the  legend  and 
described  the  varied  vagaries  of  the  volcano.  The  numerous 
citations  in  this  book  from  Mr.  Thurston's  statements  prove  that 
no  one  could  better  narrate  the  history  of  the  volcano  than  he. 

May  28.  Demosthenes  Lycurgus  reports  signs  of  fire,  which  in- 
creased by  July  10  to  be  a  lake  of  fire  boiling  furiously  seventy- 


252 

five  by  seventy-five  feet.  It  rose  over  the  pit  floor  and  flowed 
down  in  a  cataract.  Continued  to  rise  and  fall  every  twenty-five 
minutes. 

July  12.  F.  M.  Wetmore  saw  two  lava  flows  ,three  active  foun- 
tains and  a  cone  sending  out  a  flame  like  a  Roman  candle. 

Aug.  29.  "It  is  the  pit  of  hell,"  I  said.  "Yes,"  said  Cart- 
wright,  "it  is  the  pit  of  hell.  Let  us  go  down."  "And  we  went 
down." — Jack  London. 

THE  RENEWED  ACTIVITY  OF  1908. 

Nov.  30,  1907.  Lycurgus  says,  "Volcano  active  again  after  a 
quiet  of  seven  months.  A  little  cone  with  flame  issuing.  Was 
not  persistent." 

Dec.  7,  1907.  W.  A.  Wall  figures  the  black  ledge  at  the  depth 
of  four  hundred  and  fifty  feet,  the  lower  pit  two  hundred  feet 
wide  at  the  top,  and  fire  eighty  feet  below. 

February,  1908.     Cone  emitting  fire.     Florence  Gurney. 

March  20.  C.  N.  Towle  pictures  streams  of  lava  flowing  in 
both  directions  from  a  cone,  till  they  meet  on  the  opposite  side. 

March  17-25.  J.  W.  Waldron.  Pit  three  hundred  feet  deep, 
1, 800  feet  across.  Cone  in  northwest  corner  spouting  noisily. 

I9th.     Cone  blew  off  its  top  and  threw  out  lava. 

2oth.  Cone  blows  off  again,  and  river  of  lava  flowed  around  the 
edge  of  the  bottom. 

2 1  st.     Large  flow  from  the  fractured  cone. 

April  1 8.  G.  W.  Kinkaldy.  Cone  thirty  feet  high  with  three 
orifices  sending  off  spray  and  lava ;  sounds  like  musketry.  Lake 
traversed  by  red  lines. 

April  25.  E.  S.  Aldrich.  Bottom  of  pit  risen  to  one  hundred 
and  fifty  feet.  Agitated  by  whirlpools  of  flowing  lava  and  foun- 
tains seventy-five  feet  high. 

May  26.  L.  A.  Thurston  estimates  the  pit  to  be  two  hundred 
feet  deep.  Lake  eight  hundred  by  four  hundred  feet,  shape  of 
figure  eight  with  a  crescent  shaped  island.  More  activity  than 
at  the  breakdown  of  March  n,  1894.  The  island  seventy-five  feet 
long.  After  each  outburst  of  gas  a  tremendous  suction  draws 
lava  from  a  radius  of  one  hundred  feet  into  a  maelstrom;  cakes 
of  lava  fifteen  to  twenty  feet  in  diameter  turned  upon  edge  and  dis- 
appearing. A  great  spring  to  the  north  pours  out  lava  copiously. 
Lake  enlarging  constantly.  Glare  visible  from  Hilo  and  Honuapo. 

June  20.  Visit  of  Secretary  Garfield.  More  than  one  hundred 
persons  in  the  party. 

June  21.  The  same  depth  as  on  May  26,  but  the  lake  is  fifty 
per  cent,  larger. 


PLATE  46. 


A.     Rough  Plan  of  Fire  Lake  in  August,    1908. 


B.     Photographic  View  of  the  same. 


253 

July  14.  Rev.  W.  S.  Westervelt  says  the  boiling  pit  has  filled 
up  from  twenty  to  twenty-five  feet  in  the  previous  fortnight. 

July  26.  E  .D.  Baldwin.  It  is  one  hundred  and  ninety  feet 
down  to  the  lake  from  the  edge  of  the  pit.  See  Plate  446. 

July  31.  Fire  in  three-fourths  of  the  pit  of  Halemaumau. 
Eight  large  fountains. 

Mr.  C.  L.  Rhodes  has  described  very  graphically  what  he  saw 
August  13  to  15.  The  molten  lava  has  accumulated  in  the  large 
pit  from  one  thousand  to  about  one  hundred  and  fifty  feet  below 
the  rim,  a  liquid  conical  column,  broadest  at  the  base.  The  foun- 
tain of  supply  is  from  Old  Faithful,  a  small  area  near  the  north 
side.  About  a  third  of  the  surface  is  never  blackened  over.  This 
lava  has  been  building  up  a  wall  around  itself,  which  on  the  I3th 
inst.  was  fifteen  feet  higher  than  the  outer  zone  of  the  liquid,  so 
that  the  lake  might  be  compared  to  an  inverted  saucer.  At  length 
the  lateral  pressure  overcame  the  strength  of  the  wall,  and  the 
lava  flowed  out  in  great  streams  until  it  tended  to  even  up  the 
surface.  The  lava  may  sometimes  be  higher  at  its  border  than  it 
is  nearer  the  center. 

Plate  46  shows  a  rough  plan  and  photograph  of  the  lava,  as 
seen  in  August. 

August  18.  N.  B.  Emerson.  The  fire-pit  bounded  by  a  ver- 
tical wall  two  hundred  feet  high;  1,000-1,200  feet  in  diameter. 
Fire-lake  occupies  from  one-half  to  two-thirds  of  the  pit,  bordered 
by  a  sloping  black  ledge  between  it  and  the  walls.  Lake  usually 
covered  by  scales  of  dark  lava  traversed  by  many  fire  lines,  not 
clear  cut,  but  jagged  like  fish  bones.  Fire  Fountains.  "Old  Faith- 
ful" described.  A  jet  of  red  lava  appears ;  scales  are  sucked  down 
around  it.  This  swells  up  as  one  huge  rotund  white  hot  mass 
leaping  high  up  into  the  air  for  many  seconds,  and  then  subsides 
as  if  there  were  a  connection  with  a  fire-shaft  deep  into  the  earth's 
interior.  This  is  in  the  northeast  part  of  the  lake.  There  are 
others  in  the  northern  quarter  and  near  the  edge,  never  so  large 
as  Old  Faithful.  Fire-lines  suggest  the  arms  o>f  Octopus.  Fire- 
caves  or  ovens  on  the  west  side.  Action  like  surf  breaking  upon 
the  side  of  a  cliff,  somewhat  rythmic.  Movement  from  west  to 
east.  In  1881  there  were  three  fire-lakes  and  a  correspondingly 
greater  action. 

August  20.  W.  D.  Alexander  had  seen  Halemaumau  when  it 
was  an  abyss  1,000  feet  deep  and  1,200  feet  wide,  pouring  out 
volumes  of  black  smoke ;  now  there  is  the  breaking  down  of  the 
retaining  walls  of  the  inner  lake  in  three  places  from  which  cas- 
cades of  liquid  fire  are  falling  and  flowing  till  the  whole  space  is 
filled  up  to  the  level  of  the  inner  lake. 


254 

Aug.  26  to  Sept.  6.  Conditions  described  by  Dr.  W.  T.  Brig- 
ham  in  Thrums  Annual  for  1909.  The  present  floor  of  Kilauea 
is  now  about  four  hundred  feet  higher  than  in  1864.  The  Hale- 
maumau  pit  had  filled  up  to  within  one  hundred  feet  of  the  rim  or 
fifty  feet  above  the  lower  edge  of  the  dome. 

Thursday,  Sept.  4,  in  the  early  afternoon  the  fountains 
ceased  to  play  and  the  subsidence  of  the  pool  began.  With 
Messrs.  C.  B.  Thompson  and  C.  N.  Forbes,  Dr.  Brigham  went 
to  Halemaumau  soon  after  dark  and  found  that  the  lake  had 
fallen  about  a  hundred  feet.  "In  the  center  of  the  pit  was  a 
curious  break  running  E.  to  W.,  at  the  edge  of  which  was  a 
vertical  slab  of  lava  semi-circular  in  form,  resembling  half  a 
mill-stone,  and  other  slabs  continued  the  wall  for  some  dis- 
tance. Over  these  fell  a  cascade  of  lava  in  a  condition  I  had 
never  seen  before ;  its  particles  seemed  to  be  in  a  state  of  repul- 
sion, and  although  white  hot  fell  through  the  central  hole  of 
the  'mill-stone'  as  meal.  There  seemed,  absolutely  no  cohesion, 
no  signs  of  plastic  molten  lava." 

Mr.  G.  H.  Fairchild  describes  the  collapse  as  follows,  the 
whole  process  of  the  emptying  taking  about  two  hours  time. 
"On  Thursday  night  the  level  of  the  lava  had  reached  a  point 
less  than  a  hundred  feet,  I  should  judge,  below  the  level  of  the 
main  crater  floor.  Old  Faithful  spouted  its  fiery  flow  to  a 
height  of  twenty  feet,  and  from  the  edges  of  the  lake  a  score  of 
lesser  fire-fountains  were  playing  continuously.  At  midnight 
there  was  a  strange  motion  in  the  lava,  which  began  suddenly 
to  sink  in  towards  the  center.  The  sinking  continued  till  the 
whole  pit  was  a  maelstrom  of  fire  and  a  chasm  appeared  in  the 
lava  lake.  Like  liquid  pouring  into  a  funnel,  or  like  the  waters 
swirling  out  of  a  bath  tub  after  the  plug  is  drawn,  the  boiling 
lava  began  to  pour  in  cataracts  of  fire  into  the  chasm.  From 
all  sides  the  lava  flowed,  and  as  the  torrents  drained  away  into 
the  depths,  the  sides  of  the  crater,  gleaming  red,  began  to  crash 
into  the  lake,  splashing  the  lava  like  surf  into  the  air,  while 
the  dull  roar  of  the  crumbling  rock  and  the  sharper  detonation 
as  the  colder  rocks  heated  and;  exploded  was  terrifying  but 
yet  absorbing. 

"As  the  great  slabs  of  lava  peeled  off  the  sides,  pieces  hun- 
dreds and  thousands  of  tons  at  a  time,  the  levels  streamed  out 
cascades  of  liquid  lava,  which  hung  and  cooled  about  the  sides 
like  great  golden  stalactites.  Deeper  and  deeper  the  lava 
sucked  into  the  depths  and  on  Saturday  morning  the  pit  was 
dead.  Everything  that  had  filled  it  with  the  bubbling,  spurting 
lava  for  nearly  a  thousand  feet  had  drained  off  in  the  opening 


255 

far  below  and  there  was  nothing  to  be  seen  in  the  depths  of 
Halemaumau  but  a  cloud  of  smoke.  All  the  fire  had  gone." 

Sept.  6,  at  ii  P.  M.,  a  spark  of  fire  appeared  five  hundred 
feet  down,  and  lava  increased  for  two  hours,  when  the  lake 
was  only  one  hundred  and  fifty  feet  lower  than  before  the  col- 
lapse. J.  A.  Kennedy. 

"The  fire  increased  very  rapidly,  astonishingly  so.  It  spread 
in  area,  and  so  quickly  that  we  could  see  it  was  rising,  appar- 
ently being  forced  up  by  some  great  power  beneath,  This 
force  seemed  to  push  the  lava  into  a  cone  that  would  burst 
with  a  noise,  shooting  the  flame  higher  and  higher.  It  con- 
tinued in  this  way,  the  fire  coming  nearer  and  the  cones  form- 
ing and  bursting  one  after  another.  There  appeared  at  one 
time  to  be  three  cones  of  fire  that  merged  into  one ;  and  again, 
when  the  force  beneath  must  have  been  more  intense  the  flame 
shot  fully  two  hundred  feet  into  the  air  like  a  rocket,  then 
gradually  spread  out  into  the  shape  of  a  fan." 

L.  A.  Thurston  writes,  "The  lava  was  rising  rapidly.  All 
at  once  it  quit  rising.  A  red  line  showed  around  the  border; 
masses  of  cooled  lava  broke  off  and  fell  into  the  liquid.  These 
falls  and  rises  vary  from  ten  to  fifty  feet.  There  is  an  artesian 
flow  on  one  side.  When  the  lava  lake  is  low  a  stream  comes 
from  this  orifice.  When  the  lava  rises  above  this  stream  it 
becomes  a  fountain  pushing  upwards." 

There  was  an  earthquake  at  Hilo  and  in  Puna  about  noon 
of  Sept.  2.  Another  at  6:15  P.  M.,  Sept.  4.  A  third,  at  6:15 
P.  M.  Sept.  5,  the  most  severe  of  all.  Sept.  6  a  slight  one.  The 
shocks  were  unusually  severe.  Those  who  experienced  the  shake- 
up  of  1868  believed  these  were  equal  to  those.  Great  damage  was 
done  in  Hilo  to  china  and  earthenware.  The  shocks  were  heavier 
in  Puna  than  in  Hilo. 

The  near  coincidence  of  these  earthquakes  with  the  first 
discharge  of  the  lava  from  Halemaumau  leads  us  to  believe 
that  the  two  phenomena  were  genetically  connected  with  each 
other,  rather  than  to  some  general  cosmic  influence. 

Oct.  2  to  ii.  E.  E.  Paxton  reports  that  the  lava  was  rising 
in  Halemaumau  when  he  left ;  it  had  risen  fifty  feet  during  his 
visit;  and  is  from  one  hundred  and  fifty  to  two  hundred  feet 
below  the  top. 

W.  A.  Bryan,  Sept.  17.  The  lake  estimated  to  be  nine  hun- 
dred feet  across  with  fourteen  fountains.  Liquid  lava  thrown 
up  two  hundred  and  fifty  feet,  even  above  the  border  of  the  pit. 
In  October,  '02,  he  had  found  the  lake  to  be  five  hundred  and 
twenty-five  feet  below  the  surface.  Since  then  there  have  been 


256 

land  slides  in  Kilauea.  Along  the  eastern  side  the  old  observa- 
tion point  has  disappeared.  A  strip  of  rock  sixty  feet  long 
caved  in  a  few  days  after  his  model  of  the  volcano  had  been 
completed. 

Oct.  17.  Harry  Dennison  measured  the  depth  of  the  lake 
with  a  string.  Two  hundred  and  twenty  feet  were  recorded, 
and  he  estimated  the  balance  of  the  distance  at  from  fifty  to 
one  hundred  feet. 

Oct.  18.  Old  Faithful  was  active  eighteen  times  in  ten 
minutes.  On  the  2ist  it  was  twelve  times  in  ten  minutes;  and 
again  eighteen  times  in  ten  minutes. 

KILAUEA  IN  DECEMBER,  1908. 

The  conditions  at  Kilauea  in  the  early  part  of  December 
were  examined  by  myself  in  company  with  Mr.  Thurston,  who 
writes  as  follows,  under  date  of  Dec.  6: 

"No  radical  change  since  last  September  and  October.  The 
surface  has  subsided  somewhat,  being  now  three  hundred  feet 
deep.  No  indication  of  rising  or  falling  seen.  The  welling  of 
the  lava  as  voluminous  as  ever.  Action  less  spectacular  than 
in  September.  Chief  action  on  northwest  side,  where  there 
was  continuous  boiling  over  an  area  one  hundred  by  one  hun- 
dred and  fifty  feet ;  lava  being  spattered  up  ten  to  twenty-five 
feet.  A  tremendous  suction  adjacent  to  the  boiling  area,  mov- 
ing as  much  as  five  miles  an  hour.  Three  black  ledges,  the 
innermost  from  fifty  to  sixty  feet  high." 

There  was  no  change  in  conditions  from  Dec.  3  to  n.  The 
length  of  the  lake  was  estimated  to  be  three  hundred  and  fifty 
feet  and  half  as  wide.  Occasionally  the  lava  would  flow  in 
from  a  hole  on  the  northerly  side.  Much  of  the  surface  was 
darker  because  of  its  congelation ;  thus  various  fire  lines  would 
make  a  network,  the  pieces  would  be  disjointed  and  sink  out 
of  sight.  The  spatter  work  reminded  one  of  gold  leaf.  Except 
that  the  level  of  the  lake  was  lower  than  it  was  early  in  Sep- 
tember there  was  no  essential  change  in  the  conditions,  as 
described  above.  Pele's  hair  was  plenty. 

The  general  features  of  the  Caldera  may  be  mentioned.  A 
carriage  road  has  been  constructed  from  the  Volcano  House 
to  the  south  side  of  Kilauea-iki,  a  distance  of  four  miles.  The 
government  has  furnished  a  number  of  convicts  from  the  peni- 
tentiary who  are  engaged  in  the  necessary  digging,  grading 
and  removal  of  the  earth.  It  is  intended  that  this  road  shall 
soon  be  completed  as  far  as  to  Keanakakoi,  and  thence  directly 
to  Halemaumdu  across  the  sulphur  banks,  so  that  visitors  may 


257 

ride  in  carriages  to  the  very  brink  of  the  fire;  and  eventually  it 
will  be  possible  to  ride  entirely  around  the  Caldera.  It  is  evi- 
dent that  there  have  been  several  slides  of  rock  into  the  pit, 
so  that  the  area  of  the  volcano  is  constantly  growing  larger, 
though  not  enough  to  be  noticeable  upon  our  maps  of  small 
scale. 

A  few  altitudes  are  presented : 

Above  the        Below  Volcano     Below  Uwe- 
Sea  House  kahuna 

Volcano  House 4040  ...  117 

Waldron's  Ledge 4030  10  127 

Kilauea-iki,  north  side 3922  118  235 

Kilauea-iki,   bottom 3173  867  984 

Poli-o-Keawe   2932  108  225 

Keanakakoi,  edge 3757  283  400 

Keanakakoi,  bottom 3357  683  800 

Kapuai 3719  321  438 

Puu  Pohaku,  heights  south  of  Ki- 

lauea 3879  161  278 

Lowest  level  of  this  divide 3765  275  392 

Uwekahuna 4J57          +JI7 

Wilkes'  camp 397°  70  187 

Black  ledge,  lowest  point  in  path 

under  Volcano  House 3556  484  601 

Eldge  of  Halemaumau 3758-3772     268-282     385-399 

Bottom  of  Halemaumau  D'ec.  6. .  .3460  580  697 

Little  Beggar 3702  338  455 

Height  of  cone  of  Halemaumau. .  202-216 

Viewed  from  above  the  black  rock  is  very  suggestive  of  ink. 
On  reaching  the  floor  the  roughnesses  are  seen  at  their  proper 
dimensions,  comparable  to  waves  on  the  ocean.  A  well 
marked  trail  leads  to  Halemaumau,  traversed  constantly  by 
tourists  on  foot  or  horseback.  Quite  near  the  starting  point  is 
a  large  fissure  spanned  by  a  bridge,  as  much  as  a  fourth  of  a 
mile  in  length,  crossing  the  path  and  rudely  parallel  to  the 
north  wall.  To  the  left  are  many  hollow  domes  from  one  to 
three  hundred  feet  long  and  perhaps  twenty  feet  high,  lined 
with  stalactites.  These  were  once  liquid  lava  flowing  north- 
erly from  Halemaumau.  These  hummocks  and  the  whole  sur- 
face are  traversed  by  fissures,  produced  by  the  falling  of  the 
roofs  of  these  tunnels,  and  often  these  clefts  have  been  occu- 
pied by  streams  of  lava.  The  floor  is  an  immense  black  ledge, 
mostly  pahoehoe,  and  having  much  ropy  structure.  Next  the 


258 

east  wall  the  waves  are  smoother  and  broader.  The  flow  from 
Poli-o-Keawe  of  1832  is  hardly  recognizable,  having  suffered 
from  slides,  and  also  has  been  obscured  by  vegetation.  Rather 
towards  Uwekahuna  are  black  lines  of  aa'.  Near  the  corral  for 
horses  may  be  seen  the  flow  of  the  Little  Beggar,  a  sunken 
tunnel  with  five  flows  of  petrified  lava,  films  and  incrustations 
of  gypsum.  To  the  west  are  areas  from  which  hot  gases  arise, 
as  the  Devil's  Kitchen,  where  food  may  be  cooked  anr]  postal 
cards  scorched.  Near  the  view  point  of  the  melted  lava  are  the 
remnants  of  three  spiracles.  Halemaumau  is  surrounded  by 
the  finest  exhibitions  of  the  domes,  tunnels,  and  ropy  struc- 
ture, being  largely  the  flow  of  1894. 

The  guides  can  find  caves  filled  with  stalactites  to  the  south, 
where  fine  specimens  may  be  obtained.  There  are  also  places 
where  sulphur  has  been  condensed  from  the  vapors. 

When  the  lava  was  fresh  there  were  various  grades  of  liquid- 
ity; the  thinnest  being  where  the  heat  was  most  intense,  and 
the  surface  had  a  beautiful  black  glaze,  sometimes  called 
hyalophane. 

The  sulphur  banks  in  the  southwest  part  of  the  Caldera 
seem  to  consist  of  tuff  dipping  gently  towards  Halemaumau. 
There  are  several  rents  upon  it  running  N.  E.  and  S.  W.,  seem- 
ingly the  work  of  recent  faulting.  Steam  rises  after  rains, 
from  the  east  side  of  Kilauea  between  the  sulphur  banks  and 
the  1832  flow.  The  basalts  succeed  the  tuffs  at  the  mouth  of 
the  canyon  leading  from  Keanakakoi,  with  a  horizontal  strati- 
fication. A  similar  consolidated  tuff  borders  the  volcano  oppo- 
site Halemaumau,  and  Puu  Pohaku  is  covered  by  much  basaltic 
pumice. 

Early  in  February,  1909,  E.  D.  Baldwin  finds  the  level  of 
the  liquid  lava  to  be  two  hundred  and  thirty-five  feet  below  the 
edge  of  Halemaumau. 

HALEMAUMAU. 

Halemaumau  is  alwavs  the  place  where  the  fire  is  to  be  seen. 
It  might  be  called  the  core  or  nucleus  of  the  volcano.  While 
the  pools  of  lava  may  appear  elsewhere  when  the  discharges 
are  profuse,  the  fire  will  be  seen  only  at  the  bottom  of  the  pit 
when  it  is  nearly  extinct.  The  number  of  the  lakes  is  variable. 
When  it  exceeds  unity  it  is  not  easy  to  select  the  particular  one 
which  represents  the  chief  avenue  of  the  flow.  As  a  matter 
of  convenience  I  will  present  a  resume  of  the  history  of  these 
lakes  of  molten  lava.  The  earliest  account  is  rather  indefinite. 
In  1825  Mr.  Stewart  is  more  precise. 


259 

1825 — Size  of  lake,  I  mile  wide;  observer,  C.  S.  Stewart. 

1838 — 3,000  by  1,000  feet;  W.  P.  Alexander. 

1834 — 3,570  by  2,100  and  657  feet  in  diameter;  D.  Douglas. 

1838 — Five  12,000  square  feet  each,  one  of  a  million  square 
feet;  Count  Strzelecki. 

1839 — One  by  one-half  mile ;  John  Shepherd. 

1840 — 1,500  by  1,000  feet;  Captain  Wilkes. 

1846 — 2,400  by  2,000  feet;  Rev.  C.  S.  Lyman. 

1848 — No  fire ;  T.  Coan. 

1849 — Size  of  lake  not  stated ;  T.  Coan. 

1855 — 400  by  250  feet;  T.  M.  Coan. 

1857 — 500  feet  in  diameter;  T.  Coan. 

1862 — 600  feet  in  diameter;  T.  Coan. 

1864 — 800  feet  in  diameter;  W.  T.  Brigham. 

1865 — 1,000  feet  in  diameter;  W.  T.  Brigham. 

1866 — Flood  of  lava  two  miles  long;  T.  Coan. 

1867— Eight  lakes ;  A.  F.  Judd. 

1868 — Twelve  lakes  just  before  eruption;  C.  E.  Stackpole. 

1868 — 3,000  by  1,500  feet,  no  lava  after  eruption;  T.  Coan. 

1869 — Three  lakes ;  H.  Bingham  2d. 

1870 — Variable. 

1871 — Variable. 

1872— Two  lakes;  D.  H.  Hitchcock. 

1873 — Two  lakes  each  500  feet  in  diameter;  Charles  Nordhoff. 

1874 — Four  lakes,  largest  600  feet;  J.  W.  Nichols. 

1874 — Four.  Southern  called  Halemaumau,  300  feet.  Lake 
Kilauea,  800  feet.  A  third  500-600  feet  diameter;  H.  M.  Whit- 
ney. 

1875 — Four  lakes;  Challenger  Expedition. 

1878 — Halemaumau,  400  by  100.  Lake  Kilauea  too  hot  to  be 
approached ;  C.  J.  Lyons. 

1879 — Lakes  disappeared  in  April,  two  in  July;  W.  H.  Lentz. 

1880 — Halemaumau,  400  feet  broad  and  ten  others ;  Rev.  J.  M. 
Alexander. 

— Four  lakes,  average  length  1,000  feet;  W.  T.  Brigham. 

1881— Four  lakes;  W.  W.  Hall. 

1882 — New  lake,  480  by  300  feet.  Halemaumau,  1,000  by  600; 
C.  E.  Button. 

1883— No  changes;  C.  H.  Hitchcock. 

1884— Both  lakes  enlarged;  W.  R.  Castle. 

1886 — Lakes  unusually  full  just  before  breakdown ;  E.  P.  Baker. 

1888 — Central  pit,  Dana  lake  and  small  pools.  Conditions  the 
same  as  in  1886;  F.  S.  Dodge. 


260 

1894 — Highest  lake  in  whole  history,  800  by  1,200  feet;  L.  A. 
Thurston. 

1907 — Return  of  molten  lava  after  long  periods  of  slight  ac- 
tivity, 400  by  800  feet ;  L.  A.  Thurston. 

IS  HALEMAUMATJ  A  FIXTURE? 

Mr.  A.  B.  Loebenstein  of  Hilo,  is  reported  in  the  Washington 
Post  of  Feb.  6,  1906,  as  saying  that  Halemaumau  has  moved  south 
1,783  feet  during  the  past  thirty  years.  In  1873  when  surveys 
were  made  in  connection  with  the  leasing  of  the  land,  this  crater 
stood  within  the  area  of  Keauhou,  the  boundary  line  passing 
through  its  center.  Thirty  years  later  a  new  survey  was  made 
which  proved  that  the  floor  of  the  crater  had  crossed  the  boundary 
line  into  Kapapala.  "It  should  be  understood,"  he  says,  "that 
the  inner  crater  of  Halemaumau  has  not  disappeared  in  one  place 
and  broken  out  in  a  new  spot,  but  that  it  has  worked  itself  along 
the  floor  of  the  outer  crater  foot  by  foot  for  a  third  of  a  mile." 

These  remarks  were  made  in  connection  with  a  suggestion  that 
the  Government  should  take  possession  of  the  volcano  and  its  sur- 
roundings for  a  National  Park.  Incidentally  it  may  be  a  ques- 
tion of  ownership,  and  concerning  that  we  have  the  reported  re- 
marks of  Mr.  F.  S.  Dodge,  Superintendent  of  the  Bishop  estate. 
"The  shifting  of  the  lake  of  fire  does  not  invalidate  any  claim  we 
may  have  on  it.  The  line  of  the  Bishop  estate  is  tied  to  the  center 
of  the  lake,  and  our  boundaries  move  along  with  it.  The  descrip- 
tion of  the  boundary  shows  that  the  line  runs  from  well  known 
points  on  the  bluff  'to  the  center  of  the  lake  of  fire/  and  it  is  a 
well  recognized  fact  in  the  Territorial  Courts  that  a  recognizable 
fixed  point  has  precedence  over  distances  and  bearings.  Thus, 
no  matter  where  the  lake  of  fire  may  wander  to,  it  drags  our  line 
along  with  it." 

HOUSES  OF  ENTERTAINMENT  FOR  VISITORS. 

The  first  one  mentioned  was  situated  upon  the  Maiden  plateau 
in  1824,  for  the  accommodation  of  the  Princess  Kapiolani  and  her 
retinue.  It  was  a  simple  native  hut,  and  was  found  to  be  very 
convenient  for  the  use  of  Lord  Byron's  party  in  1825. 

In  1840  Captain  Wilkes'  party  encamped  upon  the  low  ground 
between  the  sulphur  banks  and  the  volcano.  Mr.  Goodale  says 
that  in  1847  he  slept  in  an  old  shed ;  in  1856  he  found  a  house  but 
no  host.  Other  early  visitors  represent  this  place  of  accommoda- 
tion as  a  grass  house  consisting  of  one  room  with  a  coarse  hala 
mat  upon  the  earth  floor.  Travelers  brought  their  provisions  and 


PLATE  47. 


A.     Volcano  House,    1868. 


B.     Volcano  House,    1872. 


26l 

used  for  drink  the  water  that  was  condensed  from  steam.  In 
Plate  47 AB  may  be  seen  two  of  the  early  houses,  perhaps  in  1868 
and  1872,  supposed  to  be  situated  upon  the  site  of  the  present  Vol- 
cano House.  In  1865  this  house  had  become  sufficiently  durable 
to  allow  the  keeping  of  a  record  book.  About  this  time  the  in- 
dustry of  gathering  the  pulu  from  the  tree  ferns  to  be  used  as  the 
rilling  of  mattresses  was  quite  flourishing,  and  the  house  accom- 
modated both  the  visitors  and  the  pulu  gatherers.  Judge  L. 
Kaina  and  G.  W.  C.  Jones  were  associated  together  in  this  busi- 
ness in  the  sixties  and  seventies,  and  the  house  seems  to  have  been 
of  this  primitive  character. 

Upon  June  6,  1877,  W.  H.  Lentz  was  employed  to  assist  in 
building  a  better  house,  using  boards  and  timbers.  He  succeeded 
to  the  position  of  landlord  and  remained  in  charge  till  April,  1883. 
Messrs.  Jordan  and  Shipman  were  in  charge  for  the  next  two 
years.  June  20,  1885,  the  property  passed  into  the  hands  of  the 
Wilder  Steamship  Company,  with  J.  H.  Maby  for  manager. 

There  was  a  new  organization  April  I,  1891,  called  the  Volcano 
House  Company:  W.  R.  Castle,  president;  Peter  Lee,  manager. 
Extensive  additions  were  made  to  the  house. 

In  1901  there  were  further  additions  to  the  buildings.  Fred 
Waldron  succeeded  Mr.  Lee  as  manager. 

St.  Clair  Bidgood  was  the  manager  in  1903. 

George  Lycurgus  was  next  elected  manager,  succeeded  at  the 
end  of  1904  by  Demosthenes  Lycurgus,  the  present  head,  who  is 
also  the  chief  owner  of  the  stock  of  the  company. 

Plate  1 5  represents  the  Volcano  House  as  it  appears  today. 


PART  IV. 
The  Hawaiian  Type  of  Volcanic  Action. 

"If  one  should  attempt  to  classify  volcanoes  he  must  take  into 
account  their  history, __geo^raphical_j)osition,j  petrographical 
cKaracter  of  the  lavas  emitted  "and  other  products,  the  variable 
fusibility  of  the  flows,  their  styles  of  eruption,  shapes  of  the  moun- 
tain built  up,  descriptions  of  the  several  sorts  of  craters,  and  other 
matters.  It  will  not&e  convenient  ftsestfs  to  consider  any  general 
classification,  but  we  will  simply  state  what  features  of  form, 
history  and  style  of  eruption  are  characteristic  of  the  Hawaiian 
volcanoes,  with  occasional  allusions  to  what  may  be  seen  else- 
where, by  way  of  contrast.  The  details  presented  in  Parts  II 
and  III  will  furnish  illustrations  of  the  several  phases  of  action. 
•*•  At  the  outset  it  will  be  proper  to  state  that  upon  the  Island  of 
Hawaii  there  are  five  great  volcanoes;  the  Kohala  region  and 
Mauna  Kea,  both  now  extinct ;  Hualalai,  Mauna  Loa  and  Kilauea. 
Our  studies  have  been  confined  chiefly  to  the  last  two,  because 
their  activities  appeal  to  us.  The  investigations  into  the  histories 
of  the  others  would  suggest  what  might  be  termed  post  mortem 
examinations.  Each  of  these  volcanoes  may  be  said  to  have  its 
own  sphere  of  activity.  Some  authors  regard  Kilauea  as  an 
appendage  of  Mauna  Loa.  It  seems  best  to  us  to  regard  them  as 
thoroughly  distinct  above  the  sea  level,  though  we  expect  to  show 
that  they  may  be  one  deep  down.  Mauna  Loa  extends  to  the 
bases  of  Hualalai  and  Mauna  Kea  upon  the  northeast  and  north- 
west. Upon  the  south  it  probably  includes  the  south  point  of  the 
island  as  far  east  as  Punaluu ;  thence  the  southern  edge  may  be 
traced  nearly  along  the  road  through  Pahala  and  the  Halfway 
House  to  the  lowest  depression  between  Uwekahuna  and  the  slope 
of  the  greater  mountain.  From  thence  we  conceive  it  to  continue 
along  the  same  general  direction  to  the  bottom  of  the  slope  near 
the  saw  mill  erected  to  cut  the  koa  lumber,  two  miles  northeast 
from  the  Volcano  House.  The  impression  prevails  that  there  is  a 
considerable  elevation  to  the  north  of  the  sulphur  banks  which 
has  been  called  Mount  Kilauea.  To  my  eye  there  is  a  plateau 
scarcely  exceeding  the  height  of  the  carriage  road  from  the  Vol- 
cano House  towards  Glenwood  for  two  or  three  miles,  consisting 
of  the  flat  basalts  of  Kilauea,  covered  by  the  dark  ashes  thrown 
out  by  explosive  eruptions.  There  seems  to  have  been  a  flow  of 


263 

lava  from  some  two  or  three  miles  east  of  Kilauea  east  and  north- 
east, marked  by  the  absence  of  trees,  and  therefore  corresponding 
to  the  line  of  the  trail  from  Olaa  to  the  volcano  in  use  before  the 
construction  of  the  carriage  road.  This  may  be  followed  to  Pa- 
hoa,  sixteen  miles  from  Hilo.  Whatever  lies  north  of  this  flow 
seems  to  belong  to  Mauna  Loa,  and  everything  to  the  south  to 
be  embraced  within  the  sphere  of  influence  of  Kilauea.  The  pro- 
jection of  land  at  Leleiwi,  southeast  of  Hilo,  nearly  ten  miles 
wide,  would  seem  to  belong  to  some  ancient  flow  from  Mauna 
Loa.  The  Kilauea  area  would  commence  at  a  point  at  Punaluu, 
expand  to  thirteen  miles  width  between  the  koa  mill  and  Keau- 
hou,  and  to  retain  about  this  same  width  to  Cape  Kumukahi. 

There  is  a  bend  of  the  line  of  activity  from:  Keanakakoi  south- 
east on  the  road  to  Puna,  and  thence  northeasterly  near  the  line 
of  the  flow  of  1840:  and  it  is  possible  that  the  area  designated 
above  as  belonging  to  Kilauea  may  lose  a  portion  of  itself  when 
the  country  has  been  better  explored.  That  there  is  a  line  of  heat 
as  far  as  to  the  Eel's  Eye  and  beyond  is  very  evident.  To  the 
south  from  near  Kalapana  to  the  end  of  the  flow  of  1823,  two  or 
three  miles  mauka  from  the  coast  is  a  pali  more  than  twenty  miles 
long  and  often  several  hundred  feet  high,  on  the  makai  side  of 
which  the  land  has  been  depressed  by  faulting.  There  is  a  con- 
stant tendency  to  submergence  along  this  coast,  as  shown  at  Kala- 
pana in  1868,  and  it  is  claimed  that  there  was  a  slight  depression 
near  Pohoiki  manifested  at  the  earthquake  of  September,  1908. 

A  further  indication  of  the  distinctions  between  the  Mauna 
Loa  and  Kilauea  spheres  of  activity  is  suggested  by  the  differ- 
ences in  the  temperatures  of  the  spring  waters  between  Punaluu 
and  Puna  as  stated  by  Mr.  Guppy.  See  page  132.  The  warmer 
waters  suggest  the  influence  of  Kilauea,  while  the  colder  tem- 
peratures are  in  the  area  of  Mauna  Loa. 

THE  ORDINARY  WORK  OF  THE  VOLCANOES. 

For  most  of  the  time  the  activity  of  the  volcanoes  is  rather  com- 
monplace. There  is  a  daily  routine  of  work  much  like  respira- 
tion and  assimilation  in  the  human  body,  partly  illustrative  of  a 
kind  of  life  and  partly  a  preparation  for  eruptions.  The  most 
prominent  feature  is  the  presence  of  lakes  of  liquid  lava,  which 
emit  heat  and  vapors  and  throw  up  jets.  The  surfaces  are  crusted 
over  and  the  congealed  layer  breaks  up  into  irregular  blocks 
which  sink  and  disappear.  Fumes  of  sulphur  and  aqueous  vapors 
arise  from  the  caldrons,  causing  visitors  to  avoid  their  leeward 
sides.  What  may  be  termed  smoke  mixed  with  the  vapors  will 
develop  clouds  overhead  or  rise  in  columns  spreading  out  like 


264 

the  branches  of  trees  or  an  opened  umbrella.  Many  instances 
have  been  cited  of  the  presence  of  these  clouds  over  Mokuaweo- 
weo,  some  of  them  being  charged  with  fine  cindery  particles  and 
others  not  to  be  distinguished  from  cumulus  clouds  formed  by  the 
precipitation  of  vapors  in  a  colder  region.  The  tree  is  evidently 
an  attenuated  variety  of  the  copious  discharges  in  times  of  great 
activity. 

The  ebullition  is  constant.  Certain  portions  in  their  efforts  to 
rise  as  bubbles  do  projectile  work,  accompanied  by  noises.  The 
jets  spout  upwards  as  much  as  thirty  feet  and  the  action  is 
rythmical.  Some  speak  of  these  jets  as  dancing  joyously  with 
many  variations  of  height  and  position.  The  spiracles  are  where 
the  melted  matter  solidifies  drop  by  drop  as  it  is  thrown  up.  The 
jets  are  more  numerous  along  the  borders  because  the  heat  es- 
capes more  quickly  in  the  center  and  thus  is  cooler. 

The  Pele's  hair,  where  the  flying  drops  are  pulled  out  into  long 
threads  is  another  instance  of  projectile  action.  The  knotted 
parts  may  inclose  crystals. 

There  seems  to  be  a  constant  supply  of  the  igneous  material,  so 
that  the  lakes  overflow.  At  first  the  cooling  of  the  overflow  builds 
up  a  dome  or  column.  Then  the  streams  flow  like  rivers  all  over 
the  floor,  perhaps  cascading,  till  the  pit  is  filled  up,  and  then 
meandering  into  all  the  low  spaces.  Since  1823  the  cone  of  Hale- 
maumau  has  been  built  up  as  much  as  six  hundred  feet.  The 
vapors  are  mostly  steam,  sulphurous  acid,  a  little  carbonic  acid, 
hydrogen  and  atmospheric  air. 

The  source  of  the  water  has  been  referred  to  rain,  the  ocean  and 
the  original  magma  of  the  interior.  The  rainfall  in  the  eastern 
part  of  Hawaii  is  excessive,  reaching  to  two  hundred  inches  a 
year  at  Hilo,  and  it  is  rarely  the  case  that  visitors  fail  to  receive 
a  good  drenching.  Because  the  volcanoes  are  insular  the  ocean 
is  not  far  away ;  and  it  is  believed  commonly  that  the  seawater 
gains  access  to  the  interior  fires  for  the  eruptions,  if  not  for  the 
constant  requisite  supply.  In  Vesuvius  the  entrance  of  seawater 
with  its  dissolved  sodium  chloride  may  explain  the  presence  of  so 
much  sal-ammoniac  and  copper  chloride  among  its  minerals. 
Traces  of  them  have  been  reported  for  Kilauea,  but  I  have 
never  been  able  to  find  any  material  token  of  their  presence. 
Hydrochloric  acid  is  so  pungent  that  it  could  not  fail  to  be  de- 
tected, if  present.  Possibly  the  bright  red  saffron  and  orange 
spots  among  the  lavas  may  have  been  produced  by  the  conversion 
of  iron  chlorid  into  ferric  oxide ;  but  if  there  is  iron  chlorid  in  the 
lava  brought  from  the  ocean,  why  should  not  the  other  chlorids 
be  present? 


Vesiculation  is  justly  appealed  to  as  evidence  of  the  presence  of 
water  or  steam.  Professor  Dana  has  fully  discussed  the  matter. 
He  describes  five  styles  of  it. 

1.  The  ordinary  lava  stream  of  the  floor,  where  the  vesicles 
are  oblong  and  constitute  from  one  to  fifty  or  sixty  per  cent,  of 
the  rock. 

2.  The  common  spherically  vesiculated  lava  where  the  bubbles 
are  too  small  to  be  elongated  by  the  flow  and  constitute  from  thirty 
to  sixty  per  cent,  of  the  mass.      Such  lava  is  common  upon  the 
flows  of  1880  from  Mauna  Loa  near  Hilo.      It  may  not  extend 
downwards  more  than  twelve  feet. 

3.  Glassy  scoria  in  various  parts  of  Kilauea,  the  scum  of  the 
lava,  which  is  often  troublesome  because  one  breaks  through  it  in 
walking.     It  is  easily  fusible  and  the  vesicles  constitute  sixty-five 
to  seventy-five  per  cent,  of  the  mass. 

4.  Ordinary  scoria,  common  about  cinder  cones  of  stony  tex- 
ture.    The  vesicles  constitute  sixty  to  ninety-five  per  cent,  of  the 
mass. 

5.  Spongy  thread  lace  scoria,  existing  as  a  layer  a  foot  thick 
over  the  southwest  part  of  Kilauea.     The  vesicles  are  very  coarse 
and  constitute  ninety-eight  to  ninety-nine  per  cent,  of  the  mass. 
They  are  polygonal  with  twelve  and  fourteen  sides  and  frequently 
distorted  by  pressure.     Some  of  the  holes  are  half  a  cubic  inch  in 
bulk. 

Very  little  water  is  required  for  most  of  this  vesiculation ;  no 
more  than  that  of  molecular  diffusion.  When  a  specimen  con- 
taining forty  per  cent,  of  vesicles  has  its  specific  gravity  deter- 
mined and  compared  with  that  of  the  same  material  solid,  it  is 
found  to  be  as  1.88  to  2.98.  The  required  water  is  hence  .0003 
per  cent,  of  the  bulk  or  .0001  of  the  weight  of  the  mass.  The 
amount  of  moisture  required  to  produce  the  vesiculation  of  the 
thread  lace  scoria  was  determined  to  be  3.125  per  cent,  of  the  bulk 
or  i.i  per  cent,  by  weight. 

Some  have  conceived  that  the  downward  ingress  of  water  would 
be  checked  violently  by  the  intense  heat  at  great  depths.  The 
best  authors  do  not  accept  that  view ;  partly  because  when  the  tem- 
perature of  the  critical  point  of  water  (773°  F.)  is  reached,  dis- 
sociation takes  place,  and  there  may  be  an  attraction  rather  than 
a  repulsion.  The  absorption  of  the  water  will  increase  the  bulk 
of  the  lava,  so  that  there  will  be  a  greater  pressure  in  the  lower 
part  of  the  conduit,  perhaps  enough  to  force  the  material  to  the 
surface:  and  thus  vesiculation  may  be  an  important  element  in 
producing  projectile  results. 

It  has  been  noticed  repeatedly  that  the  liquid  lava  enlarges  its 


266 

area  by  dissolving  its  retaining  walls.  Floating  islands  and 
debris  cones  have  also  disappeared;  and  it  is  a  question  whether 
the  greater  part  of  the  calderas  have  not  been  enlarged  in  this  way. 
Heated  silicates  possess  greater  powers  of  dissolving  refractory 
substances,  especially  when  under  pressure;  but  this  opens  too 
large  a  subject  to  be  discussed  here. 

THE  ASCENSIVE  ACTION  IN  THE  LAVA  COLUMN. 

Perhaps  the  first  suggestion  of  the  uplifting  action  came  from 
Prof.  C.  S.  Lyman  in  1846,  following  observations  two  years 
earlier  by  Mr.  Coan.  In  1844  Mr.  Coan  found  that  the  lower  pit 
formed  in  1840  had  been  filled  up,  ostensibly  by  overflows  of  lava. 
Two  years  later  (June,  1846)  this  pit  was  nearly  obliterated,  and 
there  were  wide  canals  of  liquid  lava  intervening  between  the 
black  ledge  and  the  area  of  the  lower  pit.  By  July,  1846,  the  pit 
was  filled  up  and  Mr.  Lyman  concluded  that  the  interior  had  been 
elevated,  in  some  parts  above  the  black  ledge,  which  had  remained 
stationary.  When  the  pit  was  depressed  many  blocks  of  lava  had 
fallen  into  it,  making  a  talus  on  the  floor  after  elevation.  These 
fragments  formed  a  ridge  inside  of  the  canal  (shown  in  Plate  30) 
higher  than  the  black  ledge  from  which  the  blocks  had  fallen. 
This  phenomenon  he  attributed  to  the  "combined  effect  of  re- 
peated overflowing  together  with  the  upheaving  agency  of  sub- 
terranean forces."  Mr.  Coan  subsequently  noted  further  move- 
ments in  the  same  direction. 

In  1848  Mr.  Coan  describes  the  formation  of  a  crust  over  the 
lake  of  Halemaumau,  which  was  soon  raised  into  a  dome  two  or 
three  hundred  feet  high  from  which  one  could  look  out  upon 
the  surrounding  country  beyond  the  outer  wall.  This  dome  was 
said  to  have  been  "formed  by  the  compound  action  of  upheaving 
forces  from  beneath,  and  of  eruptions  from  the  openings  forming 
successive  layers  upon  its  external  surface.'"  This  dome  collapsed 
in  1855. 

Meanwhile  the  interior  area  continued  to  rise,  and  streams  of 
lava  to  flow  over  the  black  ledge  adjacent  to  the  walls,  while  the 
original  talus  of  1846  is  discernible  upon  the  map  of  Mr.  Brigham 
made  in  1866.  It  was  very  nearly  a  plain  in  1868  when  two-thirds 
of  the  floor  fell  down  as  much  as  six  hundred  feet,  leaving  a  lower 
pit  comparable  with  that  figured  by  Drayton  in  1840,  and  a  black 
ledge  encircling  the  outer  walls  a  hundred  feet  higher.  Thus  the 
removal  of  the  subterranean  support  of  the  mass  that  had  been 
slowly  rising  for  thirty-eight  years  caused  the  disappearance  of  the 
columnar  block. 


267 

The  subsequent  filling  of  the  lower  pit  till  the  breakdown  of 
1886  was  mostly  effected  by  flows  from  Halemaumau,  but  the 
"crag  walls"  and  circular  debris  about  the  principal  lake  up  to  two 
hundred  feet  altitude  are  to  be  ascribed  to  the  ascensive  column. 

Three  months  after  this  collapse,  the  cone  within  Halemaumau 
began  to  rise.  Several  figures  illustrate  these  changes.  The  level 
upon  March  6  was  three  hundred  and  eighty  feet  below  the  datum 
point  at  the  Volcano  House,  the  highest  point  attained  by  the  black 
ledge  thus  far  in  the  history  of  Kilauea.  (For  convenience  the  fig- 
ures showing  the  variations  in  the  altitude  of  the  ascensive  column 
are  calculated  as  below  this  datum,  with  the  minus  sign.)  March 
7  the  lowest  point  of  the  depression  was  nine  hundred  feet.  See 
the  sections  i  and  2  in  Plate  38.  The  beginning  of  the  rise  was 
more  rapid  than  it  was  later,  viz.,  one  foot  per  day.  In  October, 

1886,  Plates  37B  and  38,  the  depression  had  been  filled  up,  in  some 
measure  by  lava  flowing,  but  more  particularly  by  elevation  of  the 
debris  to  be  on  a  level  with  the  rim  of  Halemaumau — three  hun- 
dred and  thirty-five  feet.     Professor  Dana  saw  the  cone  in  August, 

1887,  and  declared  it  to  be  rising  slowly.     In  July,  1888,  by  Mr. 
Dodge's  measurements,  Plates  38,  3gA,  the  highest  point  was  one 
hundred  and  sixty-two  feet.     There  are  no  measurements  to  indi- 
cate how  much  the  cone  rose  later,  for  nearly  a  year.      In  May, 
1889,  the  floor  and  the  cone  fell  eighty  feet.      But  it  commenced 
to  rise  again  till  the  highest  point  was  attained  of  about  eighty- 
five  feet,  just  before  the  collapse  of  March  i,  1891.     The  hori- 
zontal outline  of  this  column,  or  of  Halemaumau,  is  shown  in 
Plate  43  in  its  relation  to  the  earlier  outline  of  1886.    The  falling 
of  the  floor  to  nearly  five  hundred  and  fifty  feet  indicates  how 
much  the  ascensive  column  was  depressed. 

After  this  depression  the  refilling  of  the  pit  was  occasioned 
chiefly  by  the  accumulation  of  lava;  but  on  March  21,  1894,  there 
was  a  sudden  elevation  of  the  north  wall  to  the  extent  of  eighty 
feet,  which  must  be  referred  to  another  ascensive  movement, 
though  it  does  not  seem  to  have  been  very  important,  as  it  had 
mostly  disappeared  before  the  collapse  of  July  8  to  n  following. 

The  presence  of  fault  planes  parallel  to  the  outer  wall  of  the 
caldera  or  to  Halemaumau  as  seen  on  the  map  of  1865,  or  to  the 
outline  of  Kilauea  iki,  would  suggest  some  relation  to  ascensive 
columns.  Hence  a  careful  study  will  tend  to  increase  the  num- 
ber of  these  columns  in  all  the  calderas.  They  illustrate  also  the 
sympathy  discernible  between  the  volcanoes. 

A  column  of  basaltic  material  rising  between  circular  walls  re- 
minds one  of  the  obelisk  or  spine  forced  upwards  in  the  late 
eruptions  from  Mont  Pelee  in  Martinique  and  at  Bogosloff  in 


268 

Alaska.  These  were  not  permanent  because  of  exposure  to 
denudation;  but  if  they  had  been  protected  like  the  ascensive 
columns  in  Kilauea,  they  might  have  endured  much  longer.  It  is 
conceivable  that  the  spine  may  sometimes  be  elevated  from  one 
side  as  a  horizontal  block,  so  as  to  be  like  the  elongated  rectangu- 
lar mountains  now  projecting  above  the  floor  of  Mohokea.  They 
may  bear  kinship  also  to  laccoliths. 

The  force  that  elevates  these  columns  must  be  the  pressure  of 
the  deep  seated  mobile  lava  seeking  an  outlet,  and  of  course  inti- 
mately related  to  the  general  theory  of  volcanic  action.  Some 
have  spoken  of  this  action  in  Kilauea  as  if  the  column  were  float- 
ing on  the  surface  of  the  subjacent  lava.  When  more  lava  is 
supplied  the  column  rises ;  and  after  the  removal  of  the  liquid  the 
debris  will  sink  back,  following  it  downwards  as  far  as  possible. 

ERUPTIONS. 

The  ordinary  work  of  the  volcanoes  is  accumulative.  The 
molten  lava  has  been  gathering  at  the  apex  of  the  ascensive 
column  in  such  amount  that  there  is  not  strength  enough  in  the 
containing  walls  to  keep  it  in  place,  and  it  flows  away  down  the 
mountain  side,  or  else  disappears  in  an  unseen  abyss.  As  soon 
as  relief  is  granted  by  a  discharge  the  volcano  is  quiet,  and  the 
ordinary  work  is  resumed  until  there  is  material  enough  for  an- 
other eruption.  There  may  be  said  to  be  four  kinds  of  eruption : 
first,  those  escaping  from  orifices  high  up  the  mountain ;  second, 
those  emitted  from  fissures  quite  low  down,  accompanied  by  severe 
earthquakes;  third,  those  that  disappear  into  the  earth,  break- 
downs or  downplunges ;  fourth,  those  that  are  submarine.  In 
Hawaii  flows  from  the  surface,  or  edge,  of  the  calderas,  have  never 
been  seen  in  historic  times. 

Viewed  from  a  different  standpoint  the  eruptions  may  be  quiet 
or  explosive — the  first  being  where  the  lava  flows  like  water  with- 
out much  commotion :  the  second  where  the  discharges  come  out 
from  orifices  like  cannon  from  ordnance,  scattering  projectile 
fragments.  Our  eruptions  are  so  commonly  of  the  first  class 
that  they  have  been  regarded  as  representative  of  the  Hawaiian 
type.  But  the  recorded  history  has  demonstrated,  as  stated  by 
J.  W.  Judd,  that  the  "two  conditions  are  presented  by  the  same 
volcano  at  different  periods,  and  pass  into  one  another  by  the 
most  insensible  gradations."  As  has  been  often  intimated,  a 
noise  or  earthquake  shock  has  usually  preceded  the  eruptions  when 
the  observer  has  been  located  near  the  place  of  outbreak.  A 
person  in  Hilo  could  not  know  by  observation  whether  there  was 


269 

any  disturbance  attending  the  sudden  illumination  of  the  sky  in 
Mokuaweoweo  forty  miles  away.  Because  he  hears  and  feels 
nothing  he  assumes  that  the  action  is  absolutely  quiet,  but  those 
who  happen  to  be  stationed  near  the  outbreak  commonly  speak  of 
light  or  heavy  earthquakes.  So  it  has  seemed  to  me  probable 
that  earthquakes  accompany  every  outbreak  of  the  first  class. 
The  presence  of  fragmental  materials  and  heated  vapors  in  the 
discharges  from  Kilauea  in  1400  and  1790  indicate  eruptions  as 
violent  as  anything  recorded  from  Vesuvius. 

Mauna  Loa  has  been  the  grand  theater  for  lava  flows.  The 
first  symptom  of  an  eruption  there,  is  the  sudden  illumination  of 
the  sky  caused  by  the  reflection  of  the  molten  lava.  Mokuaweo- 
weo has  been  empty  and  quiet,  till  all  at  once  the  end  of  the  as- 
censive  column  brings  in  a  flood  of  lava.  If  the  sky  is  cloudy 
the  light  cannot  be  seen.  Within  a  very  few  days  there  is  an 
outburst  from  some  point  below  on  the  side  of  the  mountain,  and 
the  stream  begins  to  flow,  starting  from  an  elevation  of  from 
10,000  to  12,000  feet  above  the  sea. 

At  the  point  of  outbreak  what  has  been  called  a  terminal  cone 
is  formed — well  seen  in  Plate  21,  known  as  the  Dewey  crater,  in 
1899.  These  are  made  of  lapilli,  and  may  be  seen  at  the  sources 
of  all  the  historic  flows,  as  well  as  many  more  that  are  pre- 
historic. It  would  seem  that  hydrostatic  pressure  causes  the  lava 
to  rise  from  an  orifice  perhaps  hundreds  of  feet.  The  jet  is  high- 
est at  first,  and  disappears  when  the  flow  has  ceased.  The 
lapilli  are  simply  the  cold  splashes  of  the  liquid.  The  various 
facts  relating  to  the  dates,  altitudes,  duration  and  other  elements 
of  the  flows  can  be  seen  best  from  tabular  views. 


270 


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271 

From  the  tabular  view  of  the  eruptions  from  Mokuaweoweo 
and  Mauna  Loa  the  following  facts  seem  to  be  established.  There 
are  five  different  features  of  which  three  are  sometimes  combined. 

1.  Every  eruption  commences  with  an  influx  of  melted  lava 
to  the  pit  of  Mokuaweoweo.      In  ten  cases  there  was  no  farther 
manifestation  of  activity.      These  were  in  1849,  '65,  '72,  '73,  '73, 
'75,  '76,  '80,  '96,  1903. 

2.  There  were  eight  cases  where  this  lava  proceeded  from  ori- 
fices very  high  up,  from  one  to  three  thousand  feet  below  the  bot- 
tom of  Mokuaweoweo  and  a  considerable  time  was  required  to 
discharge  the  liquid.     These  were  in   1780,   1832,  '43,  '52,  '55, 
'59/80/99.    ^ 

3.  Three  instances  are  on  record  where  the  fire  issued  from 
rents  comparatively  low  down ;  preceded  by  vigorous  earthquakes 
of  short  duration.      These  were  in  1868,  1887,  1907.      In  1851 
the  flow  came  from  a  high  elevation  and  in  other  respects  re- 
sembled those  from  low  down. 

4.  In  one  instance,  1887,  only  smoke  and  steam  issued  from 
the  summit. 

5.  Four  submarine  discharges  or  disturbances  attended  the 
other  phenomena,  in  1868,  1872,  1877,  1903. 

6.  Eruptions  are  more  abundant  in  the  rainy  months — Janu- 
ary to  May. 

7.  The  intervals  between  eruptions  are  irregular — from  three 
months  to  eleven  years. 

ERUPTIONS  FROM  KILAUEA  PREVIOUS  TO  1820. 

A.  D. 

Active  at  first  immigration  under  Wakea 140 

The  same  at  second  immigration  in 1090 

Average  of  one  for  every  reign — three  per  century — 

fifty  in  all. 

Pele's  conflict  with  Tamapua IJ75+ 

Pele's  conflict  with  Keariikukua  in  Kapoho:   Kari- 

wari  chased  to  the  sea 1340-1380 

Reign  of  Liloa — neighborhood  of  Keanakakoi. .....          1420 

Time  of  Arapai  at  Kaimu 1740 

Three  hills  west  of  Kapoho,  Honuaura,  Malama  and 

Mariu 1788 

Keoua  at  Kilauea 1790 


272 
ERUPTIONS  FROM  KILAUEA  AFTER  1820, 

Below  Uwekahuna 
Level  of  lava 

Date  lake  before     Bottom  of  pit 

eruption.        after  eruption. 

1823 — Between  March  and  June.  . . .         900  1700 

1832 — June  20 715  1220 

1840 — May   30 650  1030 

1849— May 350  1030 

1855 — October ?  1203 

1868 — April  2   600  1200 

1877 — May  21   (Keanakakoi) 

1879 — April  21   ?  ? 

1884 — January  22 

1886 — March  7 459  1017 

1891 — March  7 335  1102 

1894 — July 402  724 

1900 — March  2  (unimportant) ...  917 

1902 — September  12  650  917 

1906 — August ...  .... 

1908 — September  4 497  997 

Absolute 
height 

above  sea  Dome,  Place  of  discharge, 

of  lowest  pit.      height  of. 

2457 To  southwest  Kau,  reaches  ocean. 

2937 Within  the  pit. 

3127 To  northeast — reaches  ocean. 

3127  300 Within  the  pit. 

2957  600 Within  the  pit. 

2957 To  southwest  Kau,  reaches  ocean. 

No  discharge. 

Within  the  pit. 

Submarine — off  Puna. 

3MO 

3055   3955   Within  the  pit. 

3433 Within  the  pit. 

3240 Within  the  pit. 

3240 Within  the  pit. 

Submarine,  Hilo. 

3160 Within  the  pit. 


273 

In  the  midst  of  accurate,  possible  and  indeterminate  figures  for 
heights,  I  have  selected  those  that  seemed  the  best  for  the  table, 
and  assume  that  the  molten  lava  rises  gradually  from  the  bottom 
of  the  pit  after  a  collapse  to  the  time  of  the  next  culmination. 
When  there  has  been  an  uplift  of  the  cindery  blocks  by  flotation 
upon  the  liquid,  mention  is  made  of  the  top  of  the  dome  or  cone 
resulting.  For  the  depth  of  the  pit  after  the  first  down-plunge, 
there  is  the  original  estimate  of  Mr.  Ellis  of  eight  hundred  feet 
below  the  black  ledge  added  to  the  trigonometrical  measurement 
by  Lieut.  Maiden  the  following  year  of  nine  hundred  feet  for  the 
height  of  Uwekahuna  above  the  black  ledge.  In  1834  Dr.  D. 
Douglas  figures  the  depth  of  the  lowest  pit  at  1,077  feet-  Assum- 
ing the  correctness  of  the  annual  average  rise  of  the  pit  from  1832 
to  1840  of  seventy-one  and  one-half  feet,  one  hundred  and  forty- 
three  feet  must  be  added  to  1,077=1,220  for  the  depth  in  1832. 
His  figure  for  the  height  of  the  western  wall  of  seven  hundred 
and  fifteen  feet  above  the  black  ledge  would  make  the  depth  of  the 
pit  three  hundred  and  sixty-two  feet,  to  which  must  be  added 
forty-three  feet  more  to  the  molten  lava. 

For  1840  the  figures  are  those  of  Captain  Wilkes.  After  this 
date  came  the  ascensive  column  of  debris  floated  upon  liquid  lava 
three  hundred  feet  high  in  1848.  As  lavas  were  projected  fifty 
to  sixty  feet  higher  in  1849  it  ig  assumed  that  three  hundred  and 
fifty  feet  will  represent  the  level  attained  by  the  liquid.  For  the 
depth  of  the  pit  there  are  no  data ;  and  it  is  assumed  that  its  level 
may  have  been  the  same  as  in  1840.  For  the  1855  eruption  we 
have  only  the  estimates  of  Dr.  Coan  of  six  hundred  feet  for  the 
dome  above  the  bottom  of  the  floor  of  1840.  Mr.  Weld  was  satis- 
fied that  the  depth  of  the  pit  was  considerably  less  than  1,500  feet. 
If  this  be  placed  at  1,200  feet  it  will  conform  to  the  levels  both 
earlier  and  later. 

For  1868  the  lower  pit  is  estimated  from  various  reports  to  have 
been  six  hundred  feet  deep.  The  black  ledge  is  assumed  to  have 
been  fifty  feet  higher  than  in  1840,  or  six  hundred  feet  below  Uwe- 
kahuna, making  this  pit  1,200.  In  1880  the  pit  had  become  filled 
up  and  the  middle  portion  was  higher  than  its  edges;  the  whole 
floor  might  be  styled  the  black  ledge. 

Beginning  with  1886  the  figures  for  altitudes  in  this  table  are 
supposed  to  be  correct  though  not  entirely  satisfactory. 

The  growth  of  the  black  ledge  has  been  continuous.  It  has 
been  measured  at  two  points;  at  the  base  of  the  western  wall, 
Uwekahuna,  and  where  the  trail  from  the  Volcano  House  strikes 
it.  The  following  table  will  show  the  probable  figures : 


274 

Below  Below 

Date.  western  Volcano 

wall.  House 
After  the  eruption 

of 1823  900  900 

1832  715  715 

-{-Probably  20  feet 

greater 1840  650+  650+ 

1868  600  483 

1879  500  383 

1886  (survey)  540  480 

1900  (Shaughnessy)          ...  465 

1905  (Pickering)  .  . .  410 

The  estimates  for  the  altitude  of  the  cone  of  Halemaumau  have 
varied  greatly,  as  may  be  seen  by  referring  to  the  statements  de- 
tailed previously.  The  one  given  in  1886  by  the  Government 
Survey  appears  to  be  the  most  accurate,  making  a  cone  sloping 
one  hundred  and  sixty-three  feet  to  the  northeast  wall,  one  hun- 
dred and  twenty-five  feet  to  the  north,  one  hundred  and  five  to 
the  western  side  below  Uwekahuna,  eighty  feet  to  the  southwest. 
Miss  Bird  had  recognized  in  1874  the  fact  that  Halemaumau  was 
a  hill  top.  In  1874  a  barometric  measurement  gave  it  a  height 
of  one  hundred  and  sixty-two  feet.  C.  J.  Lyons  made  its  altitude 
one  hundred  and  seventy-five  feet  in  1878.  Prof.  Brigham  esti- 
mated it  as  three  hundred  and  fifty  feet  in  1868. 

In  1900  M.  M.  O'Shaughnessy  measured  it  two  hundred  and 
seventy  feet.  In  1905  W.  H.  Pickering  gave  it  as  two  hundred 
and  thirty  feet.  Our  latest  estimate  is  about  twenty  feet  less. 

The  features  of  the  eruptions  from  Kilauea  may  be  classified 
like  those  from  Mokuaweoweo. 

1.  The  influx  of  lava  at  the  beginning  was  universal.     In  one 
case  there  seemed  to  be  fire  seen  from  Puna  without  further  erup- 
tion as  reported  by  Mrs.  S.  J.  Lyman,  Feb.  21,  1889. 

2.  Of  eruptions  from  places  high  up  may  be  cited  the  flows 
in  Kilauea-iki  in  1832  and  1868,  and  from  Keanakakoi  May  21, 
1877. 

3.  There  were  three  discharges  from  vents  comparatively  low 
down;  in  1823,  from  the  altitude  of  2,700  feet;  in  1840,  from  the 
altitude  of  1,244,  feet  and  in  1868  from  the  altitude  of  1,700  feet. 
In  the  earlier  history,  the  eruptions  of  1175,  1340,  1740  and  1788 
belong  to  that  class. 

4.  Emanations  of  smoke  and  steam  are  almost  continuous. 

5.  Only  three  submarine  discharges  are  mentioned  in  the  table, 
in  1884  and  1906  and  1907. 


275 

In  addition  to  these  Kilauea  may  add  another  conclusion,  that 
in  1420  and  1790  there  were  explosive  eruptions. 

In  many  of  the  eruptions  from  our  volcanoes  the  lava  sinks  into 
the  earth  and  is  lost  sight  of.  There  must  be  cavities  in  the  in- 
terior capable  of  holding  whatever  fluid  has  been  accumulated  in 
the  ascensive  column.  Some  of  them  may  be  compared  with  the 
tunnels  beneath  the  surface  flows,  or  to  their  mouths,  as  discerned 
at  the  sea  level.  The  deeper  down  the  cavern  the  smaller  will  be 
its  dimensions.  Even  the  porosity  of  the  basalts  will  disappear 
at  great  depths. 

FIEE  FOUNTAINS. 

Mention  has  been  made  of  the  presence  of  small  fountains  in 
the  lakes  of  Kilauea  as  being  ordinary  phenomena.  During  the 
eruptions  from  the  greater  caldera  several  lofty  fountains  of  lava 
have  been  observed:  and  the  evidence  for  their  reality  cannot  be 
gainsaid.  The  annexed  table  shows  the  years  when  these  foun- 
tains were  seen,  the  heights  of  their  place  of  outbreak  above  the 
sea  (A)  and  the  reported  altitudes  of  the  fiery  jets  (B)  : 

1852.         1859.         1865.         1868.         1872.         1873. 

A 10,000       10,000       12,800        5,600       12,800       12,800 

B 500-700    300-400        200-600  500     300-600 

1875.         1880.         1887.         1896.         1899,         1903. 

A 12,800       12,800        6,500       12,800       11,000       12,800 

B 900      80-200  500  250  500 

The  data  for  1865  are  from  Mr.  Green,  who  speaks  of  the  foun- 
tain as  important,  nor  does  he  state  more  definitely  the  conditions 
in  1875.  The  figure  of  12,800  is  intended  to  mean  that  the  foun- 
tains issued  from  the  floor  of  the  caldera. 

If  the  liquid  arises  like  water  because  of  hydrostatic  pressure, 
the  locations  lowest  down  should  show  the  highest  jets,  which 
does  not  seem  to  have  been  the  fact.  But  the  higher  flows  have 
proceeded  from  smaller  apertures;  the  lower  ones  from  rents  or 
fractures  which  allowed  the  lava  to  discharge  more  rapidly  and 
easily.  This  principle  could  not  apply  to  the  jets  rising  from 
the  summit.  Whatever  force  raised  the  lava  to  the  floor  of  the 
caldera  must  have  caused  the  fountains  to  play  there,  and  also 
the  protrusion  of  the  liquid  from  crevices  still  higher,  as  has 
been  reported  several  times. 

In  1880  Mr.  Goodale  reported  that  the  lavas  were  thrown  sixty 


276 

to  eighty  feet  above  the  brink  of  the  crater  when  they  were  look- 
ing at  the  fountains  upon  the  floor.  What  may  have  been  pro- 
truded at  this  same  time  has  been  described  by  Rev.  Janus  M. 
Alexander  in  1885. 

Concerning  the  exudation  of  lava  from  seams  at  the  summit 
W.  L.  Green  writes:  "Molten  lava  has  often  been  seen  to  rise 
from  cracks  at  the  very  summit  of  Mauna  Loa,  when  the  bottom 
of  the  crater  of  Mokuaweoweo  remained  undisturbed.  This, 
however,  only  agrees  with  the  phenomena  which  have  been  ob- 
served about  Kilauea,  and  in  addition  to  the  explanation  sug- 
gested in  that  case  may  merely  mean  that  a  free  communication 
has  been  opened  in  those  spots,  whilst  it  has  remained  closed,  or 
more  restricted,  at  lower  levels." 

Add  for  Kilauea-iki  in  1832  and  1868,  and  Keanakakoi  for  1877, 
similar  eruptions  from  the  walls  higher  than  the  usual  discharges. 

SYMPATHY  BETWEEN  MAUNA  LOA  AND  KILAUEA. 

Much  has  been  written  upon  the  question  as  to  how  our  two 
great  volcanoes  stand  related  to  each  other.  Attempts  have  been 
made  to  show  a  species  of  parallelism  in  the  volcanoes  of  the 
archipelago — the  latest  are  by  Professor  Dana  representing  that 
Kaala,  West  Molokai,  Lanai,  Kahoolawe,  Hualalai  and  Mauna 
Loa  lie  along  one  line,  while  the  greater  series  is  from  Kauai 
through  Koolau,  East  Molokai,  Maui,  Kohala  and  Mouna  Kea 
to  Kilauea.  Mr.  Green  proposes  the  tetrahedral  scheme,  accord- 
ing to  which  all  the  volcanoes  are  near  the  intersections  of  two 
out  of  three  sets  of  fissures  disposed  at  angles  of  sixty  degrees  to 
each  other.  Both  schemes  agree  in  granting  separate  existence  to 
Mouna  Loa  and  Kilauea;  the  latter  is  not  an  appendage  to  the 
former. 

The  similarity  of  the  rocks  indicates  a  consanguinity.  Both 
carry  basalts  with  or  without  olivine,  the  same  specific  gravity 
and  various  minute  details  of  composition. 

Both  are  calderas  and  discharge  their  lava  in  similar  ways. 

But  the  main  question  is  still,  why  should  there  exist  only 
twenty  miles  apart  two  columns  of  liquid  lava  approximately 
10,000  and  3,500  feet  in  altitude  above  the  sea?  If  both  come 
from  the  same  reservoir  why  should  not  the  discharge  be  from 
the  end  of  the  lower  afm  of  the  syphon,  especially  when  the  upper 
arm  is  filled  ?  Or  why  should  there  not  be  a  sympathetic  action 
between  the  eruptions?  Observers  have  often  said  that  one  vol- 
cano was  asleep  while  the  other  was  in  action. 

Mr.  Green  endeavors  to  show  by  experiments  that  liquids  of 


277 

different  densities  will  not  necessarily  stand  at  the  same  level 
when  connected  in  separate  upright  glass  tubes  joined  to  a  hori- 
zontal pipe  containing  a  basal  fluid.  His  assumption  is  that  there 
is  a  variation  in  the  densities  of  the  Hawaiian  lavas  sufficient  to 
sustain  columns  of  varying  lengths,  particularly  when  they  have 
different  diameters ;  the  smaller  tubes  suffer  a  greater  proportion- 
ate loss  of  heat.  The  tempeature  is  maintained  by  convection 
currents.  But  he  insists  that  a  rise  in  the  Mokuaweoweo  column 
would  not  necessarily  cause  the  Kilauea  lavas  to  ascend;  so  that 
the  sympathy  supposed  to  exist  would  not  be  displayed. 

The  best  starting  point  in  this  discussion  is  a  comparison  of 
the  correspondencies  and  differences  between  the  eruptions  of 
these  neighboring  volcanoes,  citing  only  those  that  are  well 
known. 

Mauna  Loa.  Kilauea. 

1823 

1832  1832 
1840 

1843 

1849  1849 

1851-2 

1855  i855 

1859 

1865-6  1866 

1868  1868 
1872-7 

1877  1877 

1879 

1 880- 1  

1886 

1887  1887 

1891 

1894 

1896  

1899 

1902 

1903 

1907  1907 

,      1908 

Averaging  the  figures  so  that  when  the  eruptions  occur  exactly 
synchronously  or  during  the  same  calendar  years  they  will  be  on 
the  same  horizontal  line,  and  having  the  eruptions  that  do  not 


278 

agree  placed  between  the  others,  the  conclusions  suggested  are 
almost  startling. 

First  the  years  of  agreement  are  1832,  1849,  I^55,  1868,  1877, 
1887,  1907.  Three  of  those  upon  Mauna  Loa,  1868,  1887,  1907, 
broke  out  only  low  down  and  were  preceded  by  severe  earth- 
quakes. The  most  natural  suggestion  is  that  the  simultaneous 
discharges  were  occasioned  by  the  great  depths  of  the  lava:  the 
mountain  having  refused  to  yield  to  pressure  higher  up.  Be- 
cause the  pressure  was  intense  the  earthquakes  were  violent  and 
fissures  were  produced,  and  the  discharges  though  voluminous 
were  effected  very  briefly.  The  1855  eruption  from  Mauna  Loa 
was  one  of  the  largest  ever  known.  Those  of  1832  may  have 
been  synchronous  and  not  six  months  apart,  as  has  been  stated 
previously.  The  light  on  Mokuaweoweo  in  May,  1849,  was  not 
observed  till  after  the  fire  was  conspicuous  at  Kilauea,  and  Mr. 
Coan  was  not  able  to  say  that  they  were  coincident,  though  the 
statement  implies  it.  There  have  been,  therefore,  seven  erup- 
tions that  were  synchronous  upon  the  two  mountains.  Second, 
upon  the  supposition  that  both  columns  had  the  same  basal  sup- 
port, the  discharge  in  the  times  between  the  joint  eruptions  was 
confined  to  one  of  the  two  volcanoes,  the  pressure  not  being  suffi- 
cient to  render  both  active.  And  there  has  usually  been  an  alter- 
nation from  one  to  the  other.  The  greater  column  has  sustained 
nine  of  the  intermediate  discharges,  in  1843,  1851-2,  I^59,  1865-6, 
1872-7,  1880-1,  1896,  1899  and  1903;  Kilauea  has  been  active 
seven  times,  in  1866,  1879,  1886,  1891,  1894,  1902  and  1908. 
There  may  have  been  fire  in  Mokuaweoweo  in  1823  and  1840  un- 
recorded, because  of  the  absence  of  observers  or  because  of  con- 
cealment by  clouds.  Just  why  one  or  the  other  of  these  columns 
should  have  been  affected  to  the  exclusion  of  the  other  is  not  ap- 
parent. 

Second,  Mr.  Green  finds  sympathy  in  the  action  between  the 
two  volcanoes  not  merely  when  the  eruptions  are  synchronous  but 
when  increased  activity  has  been  observed  in  the  supposed 
quiescent  column  either  shortly  before  or  after  the  main  outburst. 
Lava  does  not  exhibit  as  clearly  as  water  the  tendency  to  pre- 
serve a  level,  because  it  is  viscid  even  at  high  temperatures.  In 
all  cases  of  the  Mauna  Loa  eruptions  at  high  altitudes  the  lavas  in 
Kilauea  have  also  been  high,  though  not  to  the  point  of  discharge. 

In  February,  1852,  the  lavas  ran  in  a  large  stream  on  the  north- 
east side  of  Mokuaweoweo.  A  month  later  Kilauea  exhibited 
increased  action.  October  30,  1865,  a  brilliant  light  was  dis- 
played in  Mokuaweoweo  and  continued  for  four  months.  No 
streams  were  known  to  have  flowed  from  it,  and  no  visitors 


279 

climbed  to  the  summit.  Just  after  the  disappearance  of  the  light 
new  lakes  of  fire  and  cones  appeared  from  Halemaumau  to  the 
northwest,  north  and  northeast,  as  well  as  towards  Keanakakoi. 
The  surface  was  flooded  for  a  distance  of  two  miles  and  a  breadth 
sometimes  of  half  a  mile,  preventing  access  by  the  usual  route  to 
the  great  lake  for  months.  Now  the  chronicler  says  no  sympathy 
was  exhibited  by  Kilauea  with  the  summit  fire ;  but  Mr.  Green 
calls  attention  to  the  fact  that  the  moment  action  ceased  at  Mo- 
kuaweoweo  it  began  in  Kilauea.  "The  lava  columns  in  the  two 
mountains  have  been  rising  steadily  together.  The  cessation  of 
apparent  action  in  the  summit  crater  of  Mauna  Loa  may  merely 
mean  that  the  immense  mass  of  lava  discharged  over  the  bottom 
of  the  crater  of  Mokuaweoweo  had  finally  cooled  and  sealed  up 
the  opening.  But  the  gradual  rise  of  the  lava  in  Kilauea  keeps 
on,"  and  culminates  a  year  and  a  half  later  in  the  double  erup- 
tion of  1868. 

The  igneous  manifestations  on  Mouna  Loa  from  1872-7  cul- 
minated in  an  earthquake  and  submarine  eruption  the  last  of 
February.  The  activity  was  soon  transferred  to  Kilauea,  as 
manifested  at  Keanakakoi  in  August,  and  almost  continuously 
about  Halemaumau  till  the  collapse  of  April,  1879;  after  which  it 
was  quiet  for  a  couple  of  months. 

Both  the  volcanoes  were  active  in  May,  1880,  in  South  Mokua- 
weoweo and  Halemaumau.  The  lava  had  been  steadily  rising  in 
both  columns  and  continued  ready  for  a  discharge  till  November, 
when  relief  was  afforded  by  the  flow  from  Puka  Uahi,  lasting  for 
nine  months  and  reaching  to  the  margin  of  the  village  of  Hilo. 

The  next  action  was  at  Kilauea  in  1886,  there  being  lakes  of 
lava  varying  slightly  in  detail  but  gradually  increasing  from  1880 
till  the  minor  collapse  in  March,  1886.  Mokuaweoweo  seemed 
almost  extinct  till  the  time  of  the  double  eruption  in  January, 
1887.  The  scene  of  activity  was  again  exhibited  in  Kilauea  alone, 
culminating  in  1891  and  1894.  After  that  came  the  two  displays 
of  1896  and  1899  upon  Mauna  Loa  and  the  contemporaneous  in- 
activity of  Kilauea.  The  latter  awoke  again  briefly  in  1902  and 
Mauna  Loa  in  1903,  but  there  was  not  much  stirring  in  either  pit 
till  the  last  recorded  double  eruption  in  1907. 

Third.  The  intervals  between  the  periods  of  joint  action  are 
somewhat  suggestive  of  an  approximate  twenty  year  cycle,  the 
figures  being  in  order  from  1832,  17,  6,  13,  19,  20.  Possibly  the 
1855  episode  was  a  supplement,  as  the  intervals  of  6  and  13  add 
up  to  19. 

Fourth.  The  old  notion  that  volcanoes  are  safety  valves  is  not 
so  far  astray  after  all.  It  is  pressure  from  below  that  gives  rise 


280 

to  eruptions.  If  relief  is  not  afforded  by  discharges  at  high  levels, 
the  tension  brings  on  earthquakes  low  down,  and  after  great 
chasms  have  been  opened  the  lava  flows  out  and  then  quietude  is 
restored. 

It  is  conceivable  that  the  retaining  walls  might  be  strong  enough 
to  withstand  the  pressure  down  to  or  below  the  sea  level.  If  so 
the  probability  would  favor  the  coming  of  a  violent  explosion 
like  those  from  Vesuvius  or  Tarawera;  unless  the  discharges  in 
the  ocean  as  in  1844,  1877,  1884,  etc.,  afforded  the  proper  relief. 

PAHOEHOE  AND  AA. 

The  terms  pahoehoe  and  aa,  expressive  of  the  two  principal 
classes  of  lava  are  of  Hawaiian  origin,  whence  it  is  evident  that 
the  natives  early  appreciated  their  peculiarities.  They  have  now 
taken  a  fixed  place  in  volcanic  terminology  in  spite  of  the  protest 
of  Professor  T.  G.  Bonney,  and  have  been  recognized  as  existent 
in  other  countries  and  older  formations. 

Pahoehoe  is  the  most  common  of  the  two.  The  name  signifies 
having  the  aspect  of  satin,  a  shining  smooth  surface.  It  is  quite 
hummocky  because  the  liquid  stiffens  very  quickly  after  exposure. 
Water  is  smooth  in  rivers,  but  when  the  temperature  falls  below 
the  freezing  point  the  surface  will  bulge  much  like  the  lava. 
Plate  51  represents  pahoehoe  from  the  flow  of  '80- 1  near  Hilo. 
On  the  right  the  bulging  is  more  domelike :  and  it  represents  a 
stream  later  than  that  on  the  left.  The  superposition  of  the  later 
flow  is  apparent  in  the  photograph.  Standing  by  this  variety  of 
lava  as  it  forms,  one  sees  that  it  is  a  stream  of  liquid  material, 
and  if  a  stick  be  thrust  into  it  red  lava  will  flow  out.  On  the 
left  side  the  domes  show  the  wrinkling  called  ropy  structure, 
convex  down  stream,  because  the  current  has  a  greater  velocity 
in  that  direction.  The  crust  is  flexible  and  is  modulated  by  the 
motion  of  the  liquid  beneath.  Other  figures  from  Kilauea  show 
the  same  structure.  The  surface  may  be  more  glassy  than  the 
substratum  because  the  more  siliceous  part  is  lighter  than  the  rest. 
Beneath  the. billowy  surface  may  be  vacant  spaces,  left  by  lava 
which  has  run  out,  leaving  tunnels,  which  often  are  lined  by 
stalactites.  The  rate  of  the  flow  is  variable,  depending  on  the 
degree  of  fluidity  and  the  slope.  Most  observers  overrate  the 
velocity.  It  took  nine  months  for  the  flow  of  '80- 1  to  reach  Hilo, 
a  distance  of  thirty  miles. 

The  study  of  the  aa  has  not  yet  revealed  to  us  its  proper  nature 
and  origin.  All  travelers  avoid  crossing  it  if  possible  unless  the 
highway  surveyor  has  pulverized  its  roughness,  when  it  makes  an 


28l 

admirable  road.  Those  who  climb  Mauna  Loa  travel  miles  to 
avoid  crossing  it. 

Two  examples  are  very  prominent;  the  first  between  Kilauea 
and  the  Halfway  House,  Plate  26.  It  starts  from  near  Puu 
Ulaula,  descends  the  south  slope  and  when  near  Kilauea  turns  to 
the  southwest.  For  many  years  this  curved  ridge  figured  as  the 
"flow  of  1823,"  but  this  label  has  proved  to  be  erroneous.  The 
roughness  of  it  where  traversed  by  the  road  for  six  miles  beggars 
any  possible  descripton.  The  fragments  are  larger  than  usual, 
from  three  to  five  feet  in  length.  The  other  illustration  is  the 
long  embankment  below  Aina  Hou  near  Humuulu  sheep  station, 
situated  as  if  it  were  a  spur  from  the  flow  of  1843,  w^h  scarcely 
any  descent.  It  was  an  older  flow,  creeping  along  like  a  cater- 
pillar, and  effectually  imprisons  the  cattle  in  the  mauka  grassy 
area.  Plate  50  shows  aa  from  the  flow  of  1887. 

When  minutely  examined  the  aa  ridge  is  seen  to  be  composed 
of  bristling  ragged  rocks,  incoherent,  with  an  occasional  smoother 
piece  like  a  bomb.  The  fragments  in  the  original  streams  are  not 
cemented  together  any  more  than  cobble  stones  in  a  gravel  bank. 
The  blocks  may  be  a  few  cubic  inches  to  a  thousand  feet  in  size, 
dumped  to  a  height  of  twenty  to  forty  feet ;  they  are  brittle,  not 
scoriaceous,  slightly  vesiculate,  easily  broken  down.  Professor 
Dana  says,  "the  reader's  conception  of  it  will  be  feeble  at  the  best 
if  he  has  not  already  had  a  view  of  chaos."  When  in  motion  D. 
H.  Hitchcock  thus  describes  it:  "The  whole  broad  front  of  the 
then  sluggish  stream  was  a  mass  of  solidified  lava  twelve  to  thirty 
feet  in  height,  moving  slowly  along  by  breaking  and  bearing  on- 
ward the  crushed  covering;  along  the  whole  line  of  its  advance 
it  was  one  crash  of  rolling,  sliding,  tumbling,  red  hot  rock,  no 
liquid  rock  being  in  sight;  there  were  no  explosions,  but  a  tre- 
mendous roaring,  like  ten  thousand  blast  furnaces  all  at  work 
at  once.  The  rough  blocks  lie  piled  together  in  the  wildest  con- 
fusion, many  as  large  as  ordinary  houses — and  the  movement  is 
slow." 

Others  refer  to  a  red  heat  among  the  blocks,  while  the  fused 
rock  rarely  exudes,  but  insist  upon  a  heavier  molten  fluid  beneath 
supporting  the  bristling  fragments,  and  a  rolling  action  in  the 
front  part.  I  have  sometimes  compared  the  onward  motion  to 
the  flow  of  burning  anthracite  coal,  when  unintentionally  by  the 
opening  of  the  grate  beneath  a  quantity  of  it  escapes. 

When  the  stream  has  been  covered  for  ages  the  bristling  char- 
acter of  the  fragments  is  modified;  the  surfaces  are  somewhat 
smoothed :  and  in  the  illustrations  to  be  cited  from  the  older  rocks 


282 

the  structure  becomes  concentric,  and  the  mass  resembles  an 
agglomerate. 

Judge  Hitchcock  says  further  of  the  aa:  "This  is  always  the 
first  lava  running  from  all  outbursts  on  Mauna  Loa  and  Kilauea. 
Pahoehoe  does  not  run  from  under  aa,  but  commences  near  the 
fountain  head  as  pahoehoe.  The  liquid  lava  under  aa  is  aa,  not 
pahoehoe,  as  seen  in  1880-1  by  Professor  Alexander  and  myself. 
A  stream  of  liquid  aa  flowed  from  under  aa  rock  and  cooled  into 
aa." 

At  first  it  was  supposed  that  the  aa  was  a  clinker  field;  the 
breaking  up  of  a  partially  cooled  pahoehoe  stream,  like  river  ice 
in  a  spring  freshet.  Later  it  was  thus  expressed  by  Captain 
Button,  "When  these  lavas  are  discharged  they  come  up  out  of 
the  ground  in  enormous  volumes,  are  intensely  heated,  and  are 
very  liquid.  As  they  become  cooler  they  become  viscous.  The 
cooling  takes  place  upon  the  surface  of  the  mass  while  the  interior 
still  remains  hot  and  preserves  a  viscous  liquidity.  The  fields  of 
aa  are  formed  by  the  flowing  of  large  masses  of  lava  while  in  a 
condition  approaching  that  of  solidification.  The  same  stream 
may  exhibit  pahoehoe  or  aa  according  to  the  circumstances  at- 
tending the  flow,  and  the  final  form  which  the  stream  takes  is 
quite  independent  of  the  chemical  constitution  of  the  lava." 

Professor  Brigham  says:  "The  aa  seems  to  occur  when  the 
lava  meets  with  an  impediment,  which  gives  way  just  as  the  lava 
is  granulated,  rolling  the  spongy  mass  over,  and  building  up 
huge  piles  from  which  the  liquid  drains  away." 

W.  L.  Green  remarks  that  the  aa  looks  like  a  great  scoriaceous 
railway  embankment  "down  the  center  of  which  the  lava  con- 
tinues to  flow  in  a  molten  state,  forming  ultimately  a  solid  arched 
crust  which  falls  in  from  contraction,  though  the  tube  may  be 
miles  in  length.  The  convexity  is  the  same  in  all  streams,  and 
there  is  no  necessity  for  invoking  the  presence  of  water." 

Other  observers  insist  that  the  first  lava  issuing  from  the  Ha- 
waiian volcanoes  is  always  aa. 

E.  P.  Baker  writes :  "I  have  stood  by  a  wholly  molten  stream 
of  lava  which  miles  below  was  cooling  into  aa." 

Dr.  S.  E.  Bishop  follows  D.  H.  Hitchcock's  general  statements, 
and  claims  that  the  vesicles  of  pahoehoe  are  spherical ;  but  as  the 
fragments  roll  along  half  cooled,  the  vesicles  are  pulled  out  of 
shape  and  ragged  misshapen  forms  are  developed. 

Professor  Dana  concludes:  i.  That  the  differences  between 
pahoehoe  and  aa  must  be  connected  with  some  condition  in  the 
region  flowed  over.  2.  That  the  conditions  must  be  such  as  to 
allow  extreme  liquidity  in  the  one  and  a  pasty  state  in  the  other. 


3.  That  some  deeply  acting  cooling  agency  has  acted  upon  the 
lava  to  make  aa.  4.  The  cooling  was  from  below  upwards  and 
suggests ;  5,  that  subterranean  moisture  may  have  been  the  cool- 
ing agent. 

To  make  this  suggestion  worthy  of  consideration,  it  would  be 
necessary  first  to  show  from  the  actual  distribution  of  the  aa  that 
moisture  was  more  abundant  beneath  it  than  under  the  pahoehoe. 
Water  appears  in  streams  and  pools,  or  to  a  limited  extent  as 
rainfall ;  but  does  not  seem  to  show  any  partiality  for  the  one  class 
of  the  lavas  rather  than  the  other.  There  was  an  interesting 
illustration  of  the  behavior  of  a  lava  stream  in  Catania,  Sicily,  in 
1843.  A  stream  of  lava  had  invaded  the  cultivated  land.  Sud- 
denly its  extremity  was  seen  to  swell  up  like  an  enormous  blister 
and  then  to  burst,  discharging  a  quantity  of  steam  with  a  volley 
of  fragments,  solid  and  liquid.  Sixty-nine  persons  were  injured. 
The  catastrophe  appeared  to  have  been  caused  by  the  lava  flow- 
ing over  a  subterranean  reservoir  of  water,  thus  suddenly  gener- 
ating steam  that  caused  the  explosion. 

Other  ways  in  whch  the  lava  streams  have  been  affected  by 
water  have  been  cited,  none  of  them  resembling  aa. 

The  aa  is  not  confined  to  Hawaii.  I  have  noticed  streams  of 
it  in  California  when  passing  through  the  Mojave  desert.  It 
has  been  recognized  by  J.  Morgan  Clements  in  the  ancient  rocks 
of  the  Vermilion  iron  bearing  district  of  Minnesota.48  He 
found  many  bunches  of  igneous  rocks  having  a  concentric  struc- 
ture, and  refers  them  to  the  pseudo-bombs  of  aa,  based  upon  the 
descriptions  of  Professor  Dana.  Since  then  I  have  referred 
diorite  dike  in  the  Silurian  rocks  of  the  Ammonoosuc  district  of 
New  Hampshire  to  the  same  category.49  Another  reference  may 
be  to  Newfoundland ;  and  I  recognize  the  same  structure  in  some 
of  the  Triassic  traps  near  Greenfield,  Massachusetts.  In  ex- 
amining sections  of  the  Hawaiian  basalts  in  many  localities  one 
can  easily  recognize  beds  of  aa  among  the  various  components. 
In  these  cases  the  rough  surfaces  have  been  smoothed  down. 
Bunches  may  be  recognized  by  their  concentricity,  and  possibly 
by  an  irregular  vesiculation.  They  must  not  be  confounded  with 
the  spherical  or  rounded  masses  analogous  to  the  columnar  struc- 
true. 


48  Monograph  XL  of  the  United  States  Geological  Survey,  1903. 
"New  studies  in  the  Ammonoosue    District;    Bull     Geol.    Soc.    Amer, 
Vol.  15,  1904. 


284 

ABBAS  OF  THE  FLOWS. 

Mr.  E.  D.  Baldwin  estimates  that  the  flow  of  1907  covered 
9,000  acres  of  rough  land,  and  sent  forth  a  volume  of  over  200,- 
000,000  cubic  yards  of  basaltic  material.  Some  of  the  earlier  flows 
are  compared  with  this.  The  flow  of  1855  covered  over  15,000 
acres  of  land  and  discharged  600,000,000  cubic  yards  of  rock.  • 
The  flow  of  1 880- 1  covered  20,000  acres  of  land  and  discharged 
over  540,000,000  cubic  yards  of  rock.  The  flow  of  1859  was 
comparable  with  that  of  1855.  These  estimates  do  not  allow  for 
the  material  that  passes  off  into  subterranean  cavities  and  are 
suggestive  rather  than  accurate. 

By  inspection  of  the  map  of  Hawaii,  one  can  see  delineated  the 
areas  occupied  by  the  historic  flows  from  both  the  volcanoes. 
Above  9,000  feet  the  surface  is  a  complete  network  of  lava 
streams  finely  exposed  because  of  the  absence  of  vegetation.  It 
would  be  an  interminable  task  to  unravel  these  twists.  To  some 
extent  their  relative  edges  could  be  deciphered  by  noting  the 
degrees  of  freshness  exhibited.  The  whole  dome  of  Mauna  Loa, 
down  to  the  base  of  the  cone,  nearly  30,000  feet,  is  but  a  congeries 
of  lava  flows.  When  one  considers  how  little  the  bulk  of  the 
mountain  is  made  up  of  the  few  flows  delineated  on  the  map,  and 
how  small  a  portion  of  the  whole  mass  this  can  be,  he  is  over- 
whelmed by  the  certainty  that  there  were  millions  of  streams, 
and  that  many  millions  of  years  must  be  assumed  in  order  to  say 
how  old  the  mountain  is.  It  must  have  commenced  to  build  up 
long  before  the  Tertiary  period. 

BASALT  VOLCANOES. 

Volcanoes  may  be  classified  by  the  petrographical  character  of 
the  lavas  which  they  emit :  for  the  fluidity  of  the  material,  the  tem- 
perature of  fusion  and  the  shapes  of  the  cones  are  determined  by 
the  assemblage  of  the  constituent  minerals.  The  materials  are 
spoken  of  as  basic  or  acidic.  The  basic  lavas  are  those  carrying 
iron,  lime  and  magnesia  in  large  amount,  and  small  proportions 
of  silica  or  the  lime-soda  feldspars,  the  augitic  and  allied  ferro- 
magnesian  silicates,  iron-oxide,  but  no  free  quartz.  The  rocks 
thus  made  up  are  termed  basalts,  dense  and  fine  grained,  with  or 
without  olivine.  They  are  the  most  fusible  of  the  lavas,  melting 
at  the  temperature  of  2250°  F.  The  acid  lavas  carry  much  silica, 
potash  feldspars,  hornblende,  mica  and  quartz  and  are  termed 
trachytic  and  rhyolitic.  They  fuse  with  difficulty  from  2700°  F. 
to  3100°  F.  Between  these  two  classes  are  intermediate  forms, 
composed  of  lime  soda  feldspar,  augite  or  hornblende  and  fre- 


quently  quartz,  and  have  a  medium  degree  of  fusibilty,  2520°  F. 

The  form  of  the  cone  is  dependent  upon  the  degree  of  fusibility. 
Those  of  the  basalt  order,  easily  liquified,  build  up  cones  with 
slopes  of  less  than  ten  degrees ;  those  of  the  trachytic  order  build 
up  cones  with  slopes  from  twenty-eight  to  thirty-five  or  forty 
degrees.  It  is  the  degree  of  fluidity  or  pastiness  of  the  lava  that 
produces  the  shapes  of  volcanoes,  modified  by  the  presence  of  tuff 
or  cinders. 

With  these  distinctions  in  mind  it  is  easy  to  perceive  that  most 
of  the  Hawaiian  volcanoes  belong  to  the  first  order  as  they  are 
basaltic  and  have  low  angles  of  slope.  Mauna  Loa  is  the  finest 
example,  being  a  magnificent  dome,  concave  above  where  the 
basalts  have  accumulated,  but  with  a  concave  rim  at  the  base,  be- 
cause of  eruptions  low  down.  One  may  be  at  a  loss  within  a  mile 
of  the  summit  to  know  where  the  pit  is.  That  was  my  experi- 
ence in  1883  when  my  guide  lost  his  way  because  the  marks  upon 
which  he  had  relied  for  his  knowledge  of  locality  were  covered 
with  snow.  The  surface  is  nearly  flat  for  several  square  miles 
in  extent,  and  the  pit  is  not  seen  till  you  are  close  upon  it.  The 
form  of  the  dome  of  Mauna  Loa  is  shown  in  Plate  15,  as  seen 
from  a  distance  of  twenty  miles.  In  a  circle  of  five  miles  around 
the  pit  the  mean  slope  is  about  three  degrees.  Radial  lines  to 
the  different  points  of  the  compass  show  slopes  from  about  four 
to  six  and  two-thirds  degrees  from  the  summit  to  the  shore  line. 
The  slope  of  the  cone  of  Halemaumau  inside  of  Kilauea  is  not 
much  more  than  a  single  degree.  The  outward  slopes  of  Kilauea 
are  about  one  and  a  half  degrees  to  the  northeast  and  southwest. 
The  south  slope  is  steeper  because  of  displacement  by  faulting. 

These  domes  are  elongated,  being  elliptical  rather  than  circu- 
lar. Mokuaweoweo  has  the  course  of  N.  35°  E.  for  the  northern 
part  and  N.  20°  E.  for  the  southern  part,  as  shown  upon  the  map. 
About  the  same  trend  prevails  from  the  flows  near  Kahuku  to  the 
summit,  and  beyond  to  Mauna  Kea.  To  reach  the  sources  of 
the  flows  in  the  south  edge  of  Hamakua  connected  by  the  fault 
line,  the  direction  is  about  northeast.  This  southern  divergence 
is  paralleled  by  the  similar  bend  southeast  from  Kilauea. 

Variations  in  the  character  of  the  lava  are  conceivable,  as  of 
rhyolite  in  the  place  of  basalt;  in  which  case  the  features  of  the 
cone  might  be  altered.  Or  the  supply  of  heat  may  be  diminished, 
and  allow  the  outburst  of  cinders  and  tuffs :  or  should  water  enter 
the  conduit  from  below,  explosive  eruptions  might  occur,  like 
those  of  the  other  types  of  action.  The  tuffs  and  ashes  emitted 
explosively  upon  the  other  islands  seem  to  be  connected  with  the 
later  lateral  monticles. 


286 

The  most  important  feature  of  the  basalt  volcano  is  the  cal- 
dera  or  pit  crater,  and  this  is  thoroughly  characteristic  of  Hawaii. 
The  eruptions  are  always  within  or  from  rents  connected  with  the 
central  body  of  lava.  This  feature  dominates  thoughout  the 
archipelago,  and  there  are  nowhere  else  upon  the  planet  finer  ex- 
amples of  this  type  of  action. 

Briefly  summarized  the  Hawaian  type  of  volcanic  action  is  ex- 
pressed by  the  caldera,  by  basalt,  the  most  easily  fused  of  all  vol- 
canic rocks,  by  the  development  of  an  ascensive  'column  from 
whose  summit  lakes  of  molten  lava  accumulate  and  flow  away  in- 
termittently, by  a  sympathetic  uprising  in  adjacent  calderas,  by 
the  building  up  of  domes  rather  than  cones  from  material  forced 
up  from  below  by  subterranean  power,  by  displaying  magnificent 
fountains  of  fire,  and  usually  by  rather  quiet  eruptions  and  few 
earthquakes.  By  way  of  contrast  Vesuvius  possesses  a  cone  with 
curved  sides ;  while  basaltic  it  is  composed  largely  of  the  trachytic 
element,  builds  up  cinder  cones  and  discharges  bombs  and  stones 
in  an  explosive  manner.  It  was  the  common  doctrine  at  the  time 
of  my  visit  in  1866  that  the  eruptions  followed  the  filling  of  the 
crater  with  debris,  on  the  principle  that  the  free  egress  of  volcanic 
matter  was  impeded,  and  that  the  obstacle  must  be  removed.  In 
1866  no  crater  existed,  it  had  been  filled  up ;  and  true  to  the  prin- 
ciple stated,  an  eruption  ensued  in  the  following  year.  The  ques- 
tion whether  there  may  be  an  ascensive  column  has  not  been 
studied  at  Vesuvius.  Mineral  chlorids  are  plentiful,  as  sug- 
gested by  the  greater  nearness  to  the  sea,  four  miles,  as  con- 
trasted with  Kilauea  nine  and  Mauna  Loa  twenty. 

There  are  some  minor  points  of  agreement  between  the  types. 
They  both  have  periods  of  filling  up,  discharging  and  collapsing, 
or  intermittent  action.  Some  of  the  vents  are  fissures  at  the  base 
of  the  mountain.  The  streams  of  lava  form  tunnels  and  show 
the  ropy  structure.  Both  present  the  spectacle  of  a  dark  cloud 
said  to  resemble  a  pine  tree,  which  consists  of  vapors  carrying 
ashes  that  are  spread  over  the  adjacent  country. 

Vesuvius  is  a  small  volcano  compared  with  Kilauea.  The 
cavity  left  in  Halemaumau  in  1886,  say  half  a  mile  across  and  six 
hundred  feet  deep,  represents  the  size  of  a  crater  of  Vesuvius. 
At  Kilauea  this  was  but  a  minor  discharge. 

Possibly  it  may  be  better  to  claim  that  every  volcano  has  its 
own  type  of  eruption.  Thus,  Pelee,  in  Martinique,  was  char- 
acterized by  the  terrible  hot  blast  of  steam  and  vapors  directed 
down  the  mountain  side,  with  mud  flows  and  the  rising  of  the 
obelisk ;  Krakatoa  by  a  tremendous  explosion  with  wonderful 
attendant  atmospheric  phenomena;  Tarawera  by  the  discharge 


287 

of  ashes,  mud  and  scoria  from  a  long  rent  accompanied  by  geyser- 
like  action;  Baldaisan  by  the  ascent  of  a  dense  column  of  steam 
and  dust  with  many  explosions,  a  landslide,  no  flow  of  lava,  and 
geyser-like  action,  all  accomplished  in  six  hours ;  Stromboli,  by  a 
constant  ebullition  of  liquid  lava,  known  to  be  active  for  2,000 
years,  and  so  easily  affected  by  the  weight  of  the  atmosphere 
that  it  serves  as  a  barometer  to  the  passing  ships. 

LUNAR  AND  HAWAIIAN  PHYSICAL  FEATURES  COMPARED. 

Geologists  have  not  been  slow  to  recognize  volcanoes  in  the 
photographs  of  the  lunar  surface  taken  by  astronomers.  G. 
Poulett  Scrope  presents  comparative  maps  of  the  craters  about 
Naples  and  upon  the  moon,  and  others  have  discussed  the  re- 
semblance between  them.  In  19x35  Professor  W.  H.  Pickering 
of  Harvard  Observatory  visited  the  Hawaiian  Islands  to  study 
their  volcanic  features,  and  in  1907  he  explored  the  volcanoes  of 
the  Azores,  with  the  intent  of  learning  what  light  their  contours 
throw  upon  the  lunar  craters.  He  had  determined  that  the  lunar 
craters  correspond  better  with  the  Hawaiian  or  "engulphment" 
type  than  with  the  Vesuvian,  characterized  by  explosive  erup- 
tions, before  starting.  The  explosive  volcanoes  have  the  habit 
of  blowing  the  craters  into  fragments  in  time  of  eruption ;  where- 
as the  calderas  of  Hawaii  and  the  Moon  discharge  their  lavas 
internally  without  any  important  fractures  of  the  walls.  The 
lunar  volcanoes  are  from  two  to  twenty  times  larger  than  the 
terrestrial  ones,  while  the  force  of  gravitation  in  the  Moon  is  only 
one-sixth  as  great  as  it  is  upon  the  Earth.  This  would  allow  the 
former  body  to  support  craters  much  larger  than  the  latter. 

Of  the  three  classes  of  terrestrial  craters,  the  tuff  and  cinder 
cones,  and  the  lava  craters,  only  the  last  need  to  be  studied  in  this 
connection,  although  there  are  with  us  examples  of  the  others. 
The  third  series  may  be  classified  as  cones,  pits,  rings  and  bowls, 
most  of  them  very  diminutive  by  the  side  of  their  lunar  relatives. 
Other  formations  are  the  caves,  channels,  cracks,  blow  holes  or 
spiracles,  pinnacles  and  ridges. 

Mauna  Loa  is  the  finest  example  of  a  lava  cone,  and  conceiving 
the  ocean  removed,  as  there  is  no  water  in  the  Moon,  it  is  quite 
worthy  of  comparison,  with  its  height  of  30,000  feet  and  a  base 
of  one  hundred  miles.  Every  island  in  the  archipelago  is  of  the 
same  nature,  and  usually  with  several  cones  present.  Bullialdus 
in  the  Moon  with  a  crater  thirty-eight  miles  in  diameter,  has  the 
same  general  contour.  Other  examples  are  Kahakau  in  Molokai, 
Kuohi,  the  sixth  crater  near  Kilauea,  Halemaumau,  Kilauea-iki 
and  several  upon  Hualalai.  These  have  no  elevated  borders,  are 


288 

simply  holes  in  the  ground,  and  are  compared  to  some  of  the 
lunar  maria. 

The  lunar  rings  are  represented  by  Schickard,  Phocylides  and 
the  Sinus  Iridium,  Plate  48AB.  The  first  has  a  diameter  of  one 
hundred  and  thirty-four  miles,  with  a  depth  of  two  miles.  The 
Sinus  Iridium  is  a  good  illustration  of  a  moire,  with  a  flat  top. 
The  rings  of  Kilauea  used  by  Professor  Pickering  to  illustrate 
this  phase,  are  the  encrusted  edges  of  the  lakes  of  1891  and  1894. 
Their  rarity  upon  the  earth,  compared  with  their  abundance  in 
the  moon,  may  be  explained  because  here  they  are  not  perma- 
nent. Upon  the  moon  with  a  diameter  of  from  twenty  to  sixty 
miles  and  a  depth  of  two  miles,  the  destruction  of  the  walls  by  fall- 
ing down  would  not  be  so  common. 

The  lunar  craters  have  three  kinds  of  floors ;  either  with  a  cen- 
tral peak,  several  small  craters  or  without  conspicuous  detail. 
The  Hawaiian  craters  carrying  central  peaks  are  uncommon,  un- 
less Kilauea  with  its  central  cone  of  Halemaumau  may  be  con- 
sidered as  one.  Professor  Pickering  uses  several  illustrations, 
see  Plate  49,  as  one  near  Humuula,  Hualalai  and  east  of  Kilauea. 
The  ridge  along  the  central  line  of  Haleakala,  four  hundred  feet 
long  and  one  hundred  and  fifty  feet  high  may  be  of  this  character. 

The  lava  bowls  are  illustrated  by  Aloi,  the  third  crater  east  of 
Kilauea,  and  upon  Hualalai.  Their  number  upon  the  moon  is 
very  great,  being  ten  times  more  than  all  the  other  depressions 
combined. 

Plate  49  is  copied  from  Professor  Pickering's  book,  illustrat- 
ing the  various  cones,  pits,  rings  and  bowls  found  in  Hawaii 
which  help  in  the  elucidation  of  the  lunar  craters.  As  their  rela- 
tive sizes  are  unimportant  I  have  not  copied  the  detail  of  their 
scales. 

a-b,  Tuff  cones  of  Punchbowl  and  Diamond  Head;  c,  cinder 
cone  on  Mauna  Kea,  compare  Plate  I2B ;  d,  the  caldera  of  Kilauea 
from  north  to  south;  e,  lava  cone  in  Haleakala,  compare  Plate 
nB;  f,  lava  pit,  sixth  crater  near  Kilauea;  g,  lava  cone  and  ring, 
and  h,  ring  from  Hualalai;  i,  lava  ring  with  central  cone  near 
Humuula;  j,  lava  bowl  on  Hualalai;  k,  1,  m,  n,  p,  lava  piles  from 
Hualalai ;  o,  Alealea  or  fourth  crater  near  Kilauea. 

The  spiracles  represent  rather  uncommon  phenomena  at  Kil- 
auea. Steam  rises  readily  in  water,  less  easily  in  lava  because 
of  the  greater  degree  of  resistance  to  the  upward  movement.  The 
projectile  force  must  depend  upon  the  viscidity  of  the  lava.  Be- 
cause of  the  liquidity  of  basaltic  lavas,  the  jets  in  Kilauea  rise  only 
a  few  yards ;  the  drops  fall  back  still  in  the  melted  condition  and 
the  jets  dance  in  very  lively  manner.  When  somewhat  stiffened 


PLATE  49. 


n 


T 


J 


m 


Lunar  and  Muudane  Craters,  after  W.  H.  Pickering. 


1IVERSITY 

CF 


I 


f  ^   THE 

/DIVERSITY 

\  CF 


289 

the  lava  mud  falls  around  the  vent  and  cones  result,  having  aper- 
tures in  the  top  through  which  the  steam  rushes  noisily.  A  still 
later  episode  is  where  the  explosive  force  throws  the  pulverized 
fragments  high  into  the  air  as  lapilli,  ashes  or  dust.  Various  ob- 
servers have  watched  this  rising  bubble  in  Stromboli,  with  its 
bursting  and  cinder  projections. 

The  lunar  spiracles  are  of  larger  dimensions  than  those  seen 
in  Kilauea  or  Hualalai,  some  of  the  latter  being  a  thousand  feet 
high.  The  pinnacles  are  also  more  conspicuous  upon  the  Moon 
than  upon  the  Earth.  The  same  is  true  of  caves  and  tunnels  re- 
sulting from  the  hardening  of  the  surface  of  lava  flows,  allowing 
the  liquid  to  run  till  the  supply  is  exhausted.  These  caves  were 
found  better  developed  in  the  Azores  than  in  Hawaii,  where  lakes 
of  fresh  water  and  solid  cones  also  appear. 

Faults  or  cracks  are  common  in  all  volcanic  regions,  especially 
mentioned  in  the  palis  south  of  Kilauea  and  in  the  fractures  pro- 
duced in  the  eruption  of  1868.  Upon  the  Moon  these  cracks  are 
known  as  rills,  and  are  very  numerous;  and  may  be  also  related 
to  the  canals  upon  Mars. 

Keanakakoi  (Plate  45)  is  also  cited  as  an  illustration  of  Lunar 
craters  with  smooth  floors. 

It  is  not  practicable  to  set  forth  farther  the  similarities  between 
the  Lunar  and  Hawaiian  volcanic  features.  They  are  to  be  ex- 
plained primarily  as  phenomena  characteristic  of  volcanoes  in 
whatever  world  they  occur ;  and  secondarily  as  belonging  to  Cal- 
deras,  of  which  the  most  celebrated  examples  are  in  Mokuaweo- 
weo  and  Kilauea.  See  Lunar  and  Hawaiian  Physical  features 
compared,  Memoirs  of  the  American  Academy,  Boston,  Vol. 
XIII ;  and  Appalachia,  Vol.  XI,  No.  4. 


APPENDIX. 

A.     EARTHQUAKES  IN  HAWAII. 

Hawaii  is  regarded  as  a  land  where  earthquakes  are  frequent 
and  powerful.  Since  the  invention  of  apparatus  fitted  to  record 
the  presence  of  these  shocks,  and  the  attention  paid  to  their  study 
in  Japan,  and  under  the  auspices  of  the  British  Association  For  the 
Advancement  of  Science,  so  great  has  been  the  advance  in  our 
knowledge  of  these  phenomena,  that  it  is  just  to  speak  of  the 
"New  Seismology" :  whatever  had  been  written  more  than 
.-ears  ago  is  of  slight  consequence  in  the  comparison, 
ihe  direction  of  Professor  Milne  sixteen  seismological  sta- 
•  e  been  equipped  with  seismographs  at  as  many  important 
lies  all  over  the  world,  and  the  reports  from  them  studied 
and  collated  at  the  Isle  of  Wight  in  England.  One  of  these  in- 
struments has  been  established  at  Sisal,  near  Ewa,  on  Oahu. 
Little  has  been  reported  from  this  station  to  the  public,  save  that 
it  served  to  allay  apprehension  at  the  time  of  the  great  earth- 
quake in  1906  in  San  Francisco.  There  is  a  crying  need  for  the 
establishment  of  a  Seismological  Observatory  near  Kilauea,  simi- 
lar to  the  analogous  institution  upon  Vesuvius,  where  the  phe- 
nomena connected  with  the  volcano  can  be  observed,  as  well  as 
those  relating  to  earthquakes  generally.  The  director  of  the 
Vesuvian  Observatory  has  been  able  to  send  out  authoritative 
warnings  of  disaster,  which  have  been  utilized  by  the  public  like 
the  storm  predictions  from  the  National  Weather  Bureau  at 
Washington.  The  Hawaiian  volcanoes  are  fortunately  situated 
at  a  considerable  distance  from  settlements,  and  people  congre- 
gate to  witness  eruptions  rather  than  flee  from  them;  but  there 
is  no  part  of  the  United  States  where  the  study  of  volcanic  and 
seismic  phenomena  can  be  better  prosecuted. 

In  the  history  of  our  volcanoes  attention  has  been  called  to  the 
occurrence  of  earthquakes,  just  as  visitors  happened  to  have  noted 
them.  A  better  record  has  been  kept  at  Hilo  by  Mrs.  Sarah  J. 
Lyman,  extracts  from  which  have  been  published  from  time  to 
time.  Although  ascribed  to  the  Rev.  D.  B.  Lyman,  the  first  one 
of  them  is  that  published  by  Captain  Wilkes  in  his  Narrative,  stat- 
ing what  the  disturbances  were  between  1833  and  1841.  After 
that  time  the  same  lady  continued  her  record  down  to  the  end  of 
1885,  when  her  life  was  ended.  The  family  maintained  the  record 
several  years  longer. 


291 

Three  classes  of  seismic  disturbances  have  been  observed  in 
Hawaii;  first,  those  connected  with  the  volcanoes;  second,  those 
that  have  been  propagated  by  stresses  in  the  earth  away  from  the 
islands,  sometimes  called  tectonic;  third,  the  sea  waves,  where 
the  jar  has  been  communicated  to  the  water  of  the  ocean.  Those 
of  the  second  class  are  of  less  account  locally  than  the  others. 
It  is  important  that  they  should  be  recorded  by  the  seismographs 
and  correlated  with  the  same  shocks  in  other  lands.  The  inhabi- 
tants of  the  Territory  need  not  be  apprehensive  of  any  seismic  dis- 
aster, except  those  who  live  near  the  volcanoes  of  Mauna  Loa 
and  Kilauea,  or  in  the  path  of  the  sea  waves. 

Of  the  volcanic  quakes,  that  of  1868,  centering  in  Kau,  is  the 
most  important.  It  is  esteemed  as  one  of  the  most  forcible  series- 
of  shocks  connected  with  a  volcano  ever  described.  The  state- 
ments respecting  these  disturbances  given  in  our  account  of  the 
eruption  of  Mauna  Loa  in  1868  will  recall  their  terrible  nature. 
All  edifices,  the  trees  ,animals  and  men  were  affected;  and  sea 
waves  were  started  at  the  coast.  Many  lives  were  lost.  No  ob- 
servers in  that  day  attempted  to  determine  the  various  elements 
of  the  quake;  but  its  connection  with  an  eruption  from  Mauna 
Loa  is  now  universally  conceded.  As  in  the  fable,  it  may  be  said 
that  the  mountain  was  groaning  to  be  delivered,  and  the  birth 
was  the  deluge  of  lava  shot  up  high  into  the  air  and  flowing  to 
the  sea.  By  this  occurrence  it  was  evident  that  some  of  the  erup- 
tions from  Mauna  Loa  were  not  of  the  quiet  sort.  Nineteen  years 
later  another  eruption  from  near  by  was  preceded  by  earthquakes 
numerous  and  violent,  and  still  a  third  in  1907.  And  attention 
has  been  called  to  many  other  similar  eruptions  coming  from  the 
bases  of  both  Mauna  Loa  and  Kilauea  in  prehistoric  times,  which 
may  have  been  equally  violent. 

When  the  records  of  the  seismograph  at  Sisal  are  published,  it 
will  be  possible  to  learn  how  important  the  tectonic  quakes  have 
been  in  our  archipelago.  So  far  as  known,  none  of  this  class  of 
shocks  have  been  particularly  severe. 

Quite  a  number  of  the  sea  waves  have  made  themselves  felt 
among  the  islands,  and  attention  will  be  called  to  a  few  of  them. 

EARTHQUAKE   WAVES. 

On  the  7th  of  November,  1837,  there  was  an  earthquake  in 
Chile,  and  a  sea  wave  started  by  it  was  felt  at  the  Hawaiian 
Islands  ;  also  at  Tutuila  in  the  Samoan  group.  The  phenomena 
observed  at  Hilo  are  thus  described  by  Rev.  Titus  Coan : 

At  about  7  P.  M.  the  sea  at  Hilo  was  observed  to  retire  far 


292 

below  its  usual  low-water  mark.  In  a  few  moments  afterwards 
the  water  returned  in  a  gigantic  wave,  rushing  to  the  shore 
with  great  velocity,  and  breaking  upon  the  beach  with  a  noise 
like  a  peal  of  thunder.  All  the  low  grounds  in  the  neighbor- 
hood of  the  beach  were  instantly  submerged,  and  a  large  num- 
ber of  houses  were  swept  away.  So  sudden  and  unexpected 
was  the  catastrophe,  that  many  of  the  inhabitants  were  en- 
gulphed  in  the  flood,  and  compelled  to  struggle  for  their  lives. 
The  sea  remained  upon  the  land  about  fifteen  minutes,  when 
it  retired  beyond  the  line  of  low  water,  and  after  a  short  in- 
terval returned  again,  but  with  less  violence.  It  afterwards 
continued  to  vibrate  for  a  time,  gradually  decreasing  at  each 
oscillation,  until  it  attained  its  usual  level. 

The  scene  of  distress  which  this  phenomenon  produced  was 
great.  Hundreds  of  natives  were  at  a  meeting  near  the  sea- 
shore, when  the  wave  rushed  upon  them  and  left  them  strug- 
gling amidst  the  wreck  of  their  worldly  effects.  Some  of  them 
were  carried  to  sea,  while  others  were  dashed  upon  the  shore, 
surrounded  by  the  fragments  of  their  houses,  which  had  been 
broken  to  pieces,  together  with  the  timbers,  frames,  cala- 
bashes, etc. 

Cries  of  distress  came  from  all  sides,  as  well  from  those  who 
were  struggling  for  life,  as  those  who  had  come  down  to  their 
relief.  Parents  were  rushing  to  and  fro,  looking  for  their  chil- 
dren, husbands  for  their  wives,  children  for  their  parents,  each 
inquiring  for  the  other,  with  waitings  and  hallooings.  The 
whole,  combined  with  the  roar  of  the  sea,  rendered  the  scene 
one  of  thrilling  interest.  Fortunately  an  English  whaler,  the 
Admiral  Cockburn,  of  which  James  Lawrence  was  commander, 
was  lying  in  the  bay  at  the  time.  He  in  a  most  praiseworthy 
manner  lowered  his  boats,  and  kept  them  cruising  about  the 
bay,  in  search  of  the  natives,  many  of  whom  were  picked  up, 
wearied  and  exhausted,  and  by  this  timely  aid  their  lives  were 
preserved.  Not  a  canoe  was  left  on  the  shore  to  assist  in  this 
work.  Mr.  Lawrence  affirms  that  the  water  ran  past  his  ship 
at  the  rate  of  eight  knots  an  hour,  and  that  the  soundings  were 
reduced  from  five  to  three  and  a  half  fathoms,  which  left  a 
great  part  of  the  bay  dry. 

EARTHQUAKE  WAVE  OF  1868. 

On  the  I3th  of  August,  1868,  at  5  105  P.  M.  an  earthquake 
was  started  off  the  coast  of  Arica,  Peru,  said  to  have  had  a 
duration  of  ten  minutes.  At  5  132  P.  M.  the  first  of  a  series  of 
waves  from  fifty  to  sixty  feet  high  rushed  in  upon  the  land, 


293 

penetrating  a  considerable  distance.  J.  E.  Hilgard  published 
an  account  of  these  waves  in  the  report  of  the  Coast  Survey  for 
1869;  and  his  conclusions  were  accepted  and  published  by  the 
highest  authorities.  The  wave  was  reported  at  Coquimbo 
eight  hundred  miles  in  three  hours,  Hawaii  (Hilo)  in  four- 
teen hours  and  ten  minutes,  in  Japan  upon  the  following  day. 
The  same  wave  had  been  reported  earlier  at  San  Diego,  San 
Francisco,  Cal.,  and  Kodiak,  Alaska,  with  the  times  respec- 
tively of  ten  hours  and  fifty-five  minutes,  twelve  hours  and 
fifty-six  minutes  and  twenty-two  hours,  at  the  average  of  three 
hundred  and  sixty-nine,  three  hundred  and  forty-eight  and  two 
hundred  and  eighty-two  miles  per  hour,  and  distances  of  4,030, 
4.480  and  6,200  miles.  To  reach  Lyttleton,  N.  Z.,  and  Sydney, 
Australia,  6,120  and  7,440  miles,  the  time  required  was  nine- 
teen hours  and  one  minute  and  twenty-three  hours  and  forty- 
one  minutes  at  the  rates  of  322  and  314  miles  per  hour.  In  1880  I 
saw  a  placard  upon  a  cocoanut  tree  in  Hilo,  situated  as  much  as  fif- 
teen feet  above  the  sea  level,  stating  the  fact  that  an  earthquake 
wave  was  noted  at  that  altitude  upon  the  date  mentioned. 

The  velocity  of  a  sea  wave  depends  both  upon  the  wave-length 
and  the  depth  of  the  water.  Knowing  the  wave  length  and 
therefore  what  ought  to  be  their  free  velocity,  and  knowing 
their  actual  velocity  by  observation,  the  difference  gives  the 
retardation  by  dragging ;  and  from  the  retardation  may  be  cal- 
culated the  mean  depth  of  the  ocean  traversed.  The  results 
stated  were  a  depth  of  12,000  feet  between  Japan  and  San 
Francisco,  and  18,500  between  Peru  and  Honolulu. 

By  a  study  of  the  facts  as  they  were  related  to  Hawaii  it  is 
apparent  that  erroneous  observations  were  relied  upon.  To 
reach  Hilo,  5,460  miles,  the  waves  moved  at  the  rate  of  three 
hundred  and  eighty-five  miles  per  hour;  to  reach  Honolulu, 
5,580  miles,  the  rate  was  four  hundred  and  fifty-four  miles. 
Now  the  path  of  the  wave  from  Arica  was  the  same  to  both 
Hilo  and  Honolulu;  and  there  is  a  manifest  incongruity  in 
saying  that  the  rate  to  Hilo  was  three  hundred  and  eighty- 
five  and  to  Honolulu  four  hundred  and  fifty-four  mi'es  per 
hour.  The  wave  reached;  Honolulu  in  twelve  hours  and 
eighteen  minutes,  the  greater  distance  by  the  same  route,  and 
Hilo  in  fourteen  hours  and  ten  minutes,  the  less  distance.  I 
addressed  an  inquiry  to  O.  H.  Tittman,  the  Superintendent  of 
the  Coast  and  Geodetic  Survey,  and  received  the  following 
reply : 

"In  reply  to  your  inquiry  of  the  1 5th  instant,  concerning  the  dis- 
crepancy in  the  times  of  the  arrival  of  the  earthquake  wave  from 
Arica,  Peru,  at  Hilo  and  Honolulu,  I  have  to  state  that  because 


294 

the  disturbance  reached  the  Hawaiian  Islands  near  midnight  and 
because  the  time  is  given  to  whole  hours  only,  it  seems  probable 
that  no  accurate  observations  were  there  made  upon  this  phe- 
nomenon. In  Petermann's  "Mittheilungen,"  Vol.  15,  1869,  pages 
222-226,  Prof.  Hochstetter  has  given  the  same  values  in  his  col- 
lection of  times  at  places  where  the  earthquake  wave  was  felt.  He 
notices  discrepancy  of  the  Hawaiian  Islands  values  and  uses  a 
mean  between  the  two." 

It  is,  of  course,  impracticable  at  this  late  date  to  discover 
what  the  original  records  for  Honolulu  should  have  been,  so  as  to 
be  able  to  give  correct  figures.  It  will  be  observed  that  the 
rates  per  hour  for  all  the  localities  except  Honolulu  fall  below 
four  hundred.  Hence  the  table  as  published  by  Professor  Hil- 
gard  may  be  esteemed  as  correct  with  only  one  exception.  I 
think  it  better  to  eliminate  the  Honolulu  observation  alto- 
gether, and  with  it  the  estimate  of  the  greater  depth  of  the 
ocean  between  Hawaii. and  Peru  as  compared  with  that  upon 
the  side  towards  Australia.  From  the  Advertiser  published 
shortly  after  the  event,  it  is  learned  that  between  Aug.  7  and 
18,  1868,  this  same  wave  arose  to  the  height  of  twelve  feet 
upon  the  windward  side  of  Maui.  There  are  better  observa- 
tions derived  from  the  transmission  of  waves  in  later  years 
from  which  to  draw  conclusions.  One  such  may  have  been 
the  one  passing  Hilo  May  10,  1877,  which  originated  in  South 
America.  The  damage  done  by  it  is  graphically  set  forth  in 
the  following  letter  from  Mr.  Severance : 

The  account  is  in  the  form  of  an  official  report  of  Sheriff  Sever- 
ance, addressed  to  Marshal  W.  C.  Parke : 

Hilo,  May  n,  1877. 
W.  C.  Parke,  Esq.,  Marshal. 

Dear  Sir :  We  have  had  a  great  disaster  at  Hilo.  On  Thurs- 
day morning  the  loth  inst,  at  about  4  o'clock  A.  M.,  the  sea  in  the 
bay  was  seen  to  rise  and  fall  in  an  unusual  manner,  and  at  5 
o'clock  it  swept  in,  in  a  mighty  wave,  washing  up  and  into  nearly 
all  the  stores  in  the  front  of  the  town,  carrying  off  a  great  deal  of 
lumber  and  all  the  stone  wall  makai  of  the  wharf.  The  per- 
pendicular height  of  the  wave  (as  we  have  since  ascertained  by 
levelling  with  the  lamp-post  on  the  wharf)  was  12  feet  3  inches 
above  the  ordinary  low  water  mark. 

But  at  Waiakea  the  damage  was  frightful ;  every  house  within  a 
hundred  yards  of  the  water  was  swept  away.  The  steamboat 
wharf  and  the  storehouse.  Spencer's  storehouse,  the  bridge  across 
the  stream,  and  all  the  dwelling  houses  were  swept  away  in  an 


295 

instant,  and  now  lie  a  mass  of  ruins  far  inland.  Five  lives  were 
lost,  and  numbers  bruised  and  had  limbs  broken.  The  body  of 
one  woman  was  found  by  the  boats  off  Honolii.  The  boats  of 
the  American  whaleship  Pacific,  Capt.  Smithers,  lying  in  the  har- 
bor, picked  up  six  people  who  were  swimming  for  their  lives  in 
the  Bay.  The  Pacific  was  lying  in  4  fathoms  of  water,  but  she 
grounded  when  the  sea  receded,  and  then  would  be  whirled  round 
and  round  as  the  sea  came  in  again.  All  expected  to  see  her  drag 
ashore. 

The  sea  continued  to  rise  and  fall  all  day.  I  timed  one  of  the 
tides  in  the  morning  about  7  o'clock,  and  from  its  lowest  ebb  to  its 
full  flood  was  only  about  4  minutes.  It  rose  about  14  feet  per- 
pendicular height  in  that  time.  In  the  afternoon  in  the  space 
of  one  hour,  the  sea  rose  and  fell  three  times  with  a  height  above 
half  tide  of  7.10  1-2  and  3  feet  each  time. 

Mr.  Rose's  tin  shop  was  floated  off  its  foundations,  and  is  now 
in  the  middle  of  the  street. 

The  poor  people  at  Waiakea  are  in  a  sad  state ;  houses  destroyed 
and  utterly  destitute ;  their  goods  and  furniture  scattered  far  and 
wide  on  sea  and  land.  The  water  was  3  inches  deep  in  Con- 
way's  store,  when  the  5  o'clock  wave  came  in.  The  wave  at  Waia- 
kea must  have  had  a  perpendicular  height  of  16  feet,  to  have 
taken  the  bridge  and  wharf  where  they  now  lie.  The  water  swept 
completely  over  Cocoanut  Island,  and  the  hospital  there  has  dis- 
appeared. The  oil  of  the  bark  Pacific,  stored  in  Spencer's  store- 
house ,has  been  nearly  all  found  scattered  about  among  the  bushes 
and  trees  ,a  long  ways  in  shore  from  the  place  where  the  store- 
house stood. 

There  has  been  nothing  like  this  tidal  wave  since  the  year  1837, 
nearly  40  years  ago,  when  many  grass  houses  were  destroyed. 

I  have  made  a  careful  investigation  of  the  extent  of  the  disaster, 
and  find  as  follows,  viz. :  Thirty-seven  dwelling  houses  entirely 
destroyed;  seventeen  badly  injured;  five  people  drowned  and 
killed;  seven  badly  injured;  one  hundred  and  sixty-three  left 
homeless  and  destitute;  seventeen  horses  and  mules  drowned — 
this  is  exclusive  of  the  government  property.  Sisson  estimates  his 
loss  (in  lumber)  at  several  thousand  dollars.  The  total  damage 
has  been  estimated  as  high  as  $12,000  to  $14,000,  which  is,  I  think, 
a  low  estimate,  as  several  thousand  dollars  worth  of  stores  belong- 
ing to  the  ship  Josephine,  and  about  thirty  barrels  of  oil,  of  the 
Pacific,  are  still  to  be  accounted  for. 

Yours,  in  haste, 

L.  SEVERANCE. 


296 

B.     THE  PLACE  OF  OEIGIN  OF  THE  MOON. 

Astronomers  generally  believe  that  the  moon  was  once  a  part 
of  the  earth  from  which  it  has  been  separated  by  fission  when  in  a 
somewhat  plastic  condition.  The  original  material  had  greater 
volume  than  when  the  separation  took  place :  and  by  condensation 
the  speed  of  rotation  increased  until  by  centrifugal  force  the  moon 
was  born.  Professor  G.  H.  Darwin  conceives  the  earth  to  have 
been  drawn  out  to  be  pear-shaped — and  by  continued  distortion  a 
sort  of  knob  formed  at  the  small  end,  and  eventually  separated. 
I  do  not  understand  that  Darwin  favored  the  idea  that  this  separa- 
tion could  take  place  except  that  the  plasticity  approached  liquid- 
ity, in  which  case  no  mark  would  be  left  at  the  point  of  separa- 
tion. Professor  W.  H.  Pickering  conceives  that  the  earth  was 
so  solid  at  this  time  that  its  main  topographical  features  were  the 
same  as  now,  and  that  the  mass  eliminated  left  behind  a  scar, 
which  corresponds  to  the  bed  of  the  Pacific  Ocean.  As  it  con- 
cerns the  history  of  Hawaii,  it  has  seemed  best  to  refer  to  the  sub- 
ject here. 

Upon  examining  an  artificial  globe  having  the  land  and  water 
represented  upon  it,  and  placing  it  so  that  the  pole  will  be  located 
one  thousand  miles  northeast  of  New  Zealand,  very  little  land  will 
be  seen,  and  the  outline  of  the  Pacific  will  be  circular — most  of  the 
land  will  occupy  the  other  hemisphere.  What  can  be  more 
natural  than  that  the  Pacific  depression  occupies  the  place  where 
the  moon  sloughed  off? 

The  volume  of  the  moon  is  equivalent  to  a  solid  whose  surface 
is  equal  to  that  of  all  our  terrestrial  oceans,  and  whose  depth  is 
thirty-six  miles.  Supposing  the  crust  of  the  earth  to  have  been 
thirty-six  miles  thick,  three-quarters  of  it  could  have  been  carried 
away  to  form  the  moon,  and  the  remainder  might  have  been  torn 
in  two  for  the  continental  masses,  which  floated  upon  the  surface 
as  two  islands. 

The  specific  gravity  of  the  earth  as  a  whole  is  about  5.6; 
of  the  moon  3.4;  the  surface  of  the  continents  2.7;  the  upper 
half  of  Mauna  Kea  2.1 ;  the  lower  half  3.7;  and  this  lower  por- 
tion is  conceived  to  represent  the  specific  gravity  of  the  liquid 
upon  which  the  hypothetical  islands  floated.  The  average 
gravity  for  the  whole  of  Mauna  Kea  is  2.9.  The  gravities  of 
the  various  basalts  of  Hawaii  range  from  2.82  to  3.20.  Be- 
cause the  gravities  of  the  moon  and  of  the  heavier  lavas  are 
nearly  alike,  Professor  Pickering  concludes  that  the  doctrine 
of  the  derivation  of  the  origin  of  the  moon  from  the  Pacific 
ocean  is  substantiated.  That  the  lunar  and  Hawaiian  volcanoes 


are  very  much  alike,  as  set  forth  earlier  in  this  volume,  does 
not  affect  the  present  question. 

Prof.  Pickering  enters  into  specific  explanation  of  the  con- 
tinental and  insular  forms,  which  to  us  are  less  convincing 
than  the  speculations  of  W.  L.  Green,  who  would  object  to  the 
derivation  of  the  moon  from  the  Pacific  alone  because  of  the 
near  approach  of  the  earth  to  fluidity.  The  surface  would  not 
have  been  rigid  enough  to  retain  the  distinctions  of  continent 
and  ocean  at  this  early  period,  and  he  has  clearly  explained 
a  better  view  of  the  origin  of  the  earth's  physical  features. 

It  seems  to  us  that  a  consideration  of  the  protuberant  mass 
of  the  earth  manifested  in  the  equatorial  regions,  throws  light 
upon  the  degree  to  which  a  modulation  may  take  place.  In 
former  days  it  was  claimed  that  the  flattening  of  the  poles 
proved  igneous  fluidity  in  the  earth's  early  history.  After  stat- 
ing that  there  had  not  been  an  appreciable  shortening  of  the 
earth's  diameter  for  the  past  two  thousand  years,  or  since 
astronomic  observations  began  to  be  taken,  the  late  Professor 
Benjamin  Pierce  remarked  that  were  the  earth  solid  this 
equatorial  bulge  would  have  been  formed  by  the  pressure  of 
the  agencies  that  caused  it  to  exist.  If  so,  how  much  less  could 
the  so-called  scar  of  the  Pacific  have  maintained  its  irregulari- 
ties since  that  early  period  when  the  two  spheres  separated? 
Hence  it  does  not  appear  to  us  that  the  theory  of  the  Pacific 
scar  maintained  by  Professor  Pickering  can  be  substantiated. 

C.     USE  OF  THE  SPECTROSCOPE. 

Allusions  have  been  made  to  the  use  of  the  spectroscope  in 
determining  the  character  of  the  elements.  The  most  satisfac- 
tory observations  were  made  by  Professor  William  Libbey 
of  Princeton  University  in  September,  1893,  and  reported  in 
the  American  Journal  of  Science  for  1894,  page  371 ;  but  are  in- 
complete. The  indications  were  for  gases  under  high  pres- 
sure, carbonic  oxide,  hydrocarbons  and  other  lines  undeter- 
mined, thought  to  be  probably  copper  and  sulphur.  Bluish 
green  flames  reported  by  several  persons  have  been  referred 
to  hydrogen. 

The  most  important  fact  is  the  presence  of  hydrocarbons.  Were 
it  not  that  this  compound  has  been  detected  elsewhere  in  lavas, 
it  could  scarcely  be  believed  that  it  should  be  found  here.  The 
older  geologists  have  supposed  that  this  substance  was  of  or- 
ganic origin,  and  hence  not  to  be  looked  for  in  the  incandescent 
lava;  but  the  spectroscope  makes  no  mistakes.  To  the  above 
must  be  added  steam,  the  vapor  of  water.  Chlorides  have  been 


298 

looked  for  but  are  not  certainly  recognized  in  the  Hawaiian  vol- 
canoes. They  are  common  where  ocean  water  has  had  access 
to  the  fires  from  below,  especially  in  the  eruptions  of  the  ex- 
plosive type.  Ammonium  and  copper  chlorides  are  common  at 
Vesuvius. 

The  doctrine  is  now  being  freely  advanced  that  the  water  and 
hydrocarbons  evolved  from  volcanoes  constituted  a  part  of  the 
original  magma  of  the  earth,  while  not  excluding  the  entrance  of 
rain  waters  from  above.  It  is  certainly  a  fact  that  after  a  storm 
old  vents  like  the  Dewey  crater  upon  Mauna  Loa  discharge  steam 
liberally.  The  sites  of  most  of  the  old  lakes  and  fissures  in 
Kilauea  are  located  by  the  issuance  of  steam  after  rains.  I  re- 
cently counted  fifty  such  emissions  in  the  caldera,  and  more  at 
the  sulphur  banks  and  crevices  away  from  the  main  pit. 

D.     ANALYSES  OF  HAWAIIAN  IGNEOUS  BOCKS. 

Copied  from  Dr.  H.  S.  Washington's  Professional  Paper  No. 
14,  of  the  United  States  Geological  Survey. 

FIRST  ARE  THE  SUPERIOR  ANALYSES. 


CLASS  II.      DOSALANE. 


Bang  2 — Su'b-rang  4. 


39 

SiO2    58.06 

AloOs    18.21 

Fe,O3    4.87 

FeO    2.01 

MgO    1.59 

CaO    3.29 

Na2O    6.12 

K,O    2.75 

H20+    


Ti02  .. 
P205  . 
MnO  . 
S03  .. 
S  .... 
CuO  . . 
Sp.  Gr. 


1.88 
0.65 
0.36 
0.05 
0.05 
0.10 


101 

48.71 

18.87 

3.18 

8.00 

4.85 

9.87 

4.15 

1.52 

none 

1.81 

trace 

trace 


2.99 


102 

45.61 

15.98 

8.25 

11.60 

3.75 

6.42 

3.50 

1.82 

0.27 

1.15 

0.72 

1.20 


2.94 


18 

49.01 
16.29 
7.61 
4.89 
3.62 
9.79 
3.82 
0.80 

¥.93 
0.49 
0.27 
0.20 
0.02 
0.10 


39 — Andesite,  Waimea,  Kohala,  A.  B.  Lyons. 

18— Kohala,  A.  B.  Lyons. 
101 — Crater  walls,  Kilauea,  Silvestri,  Basalt. 

19— W'aianae,  Oahu,  A.  B.  Lyons. 
102— Crater  walls,  Kilauea,  Silvestri,  Basalt. 

10 — Crater  walls,  Kilauea,  Silvestri,  Augite  Andeeite. 


19 

46.30 
17.95 
6.21 
6.79 
3.67 
8.17 
3.92 
0.89 

5.35 
0.53 
0.26 
0.06 
0.05 
0.17 


10 

50.16 

17.97 

2.23 

6.25 

4.70 

11.85 

3.50 

2.80 

none 

trace 

trace 

0.30 


3.03 


299 


CLASS  III.      SALFEMANE. 


SiO,    . 
Al,03    .... 
Fe-A   
FeO    

9 
49.45 
13.97 
.8.10 
11  17 

10 
47.63 
15.02 
8.15 
10.40 

58 
49.80 
13.76 
3.09 
11.97 

59 

48.04 
14.62 
9.18 
11.68 

60 
47.61 
16.09 
7.00 
10.60 

61 
56.79 
15.09 
5.34 

5.58 

20 
51.63 
12.10 
8.67 
3.10 

21 
49.88 
13.79 
9.65 
2.61 

MgO    .... 
CaO    

1.90 
5.92 

3.50 
6.87 

5.02 
10.25 

2.17 
7.66 

3.10 
8.15 

5.92 
10.21 

9.40 
9.17 

6.12 

9.59 

Na20    .... 
K,O 

5.05 
1  75 

4.92 
1  80 

3.00 
1  15 

4.00 
1.28 

2.98 
1.15 

3.67 
0.90 

3.10 
0.30 

3.30 
0.17 

Ii>O-t- 

1  19 

030 

trace 

none 

0  70 

Ti(X    

trace 

0  12 

095 

trace 

0.39 

3  25 

247 

3.97 

p0Q5 

0  16 

0  08 

0  22 

0  45 

trace 

0  29 

0.76 

0.26 

MnO   

0.85 

0.80 

0.10 

1.91 

1.72 

0.49 

0.30 

0.67 

SO3    

2  54 

0.07 

0.09 

CuO 

0  18 

048 

0  14 

s      

0.02 

0.02 

Cr,O3   ..   . 

trace 

trace 

Sp.  Gr.  . 

2.74 

2.76 

2.78 

2.93 

9  and  10 — Basalt,  Crater  walls,  Kilauea,  Silvestri. 

58,  59,  60— Basalt,  Kilauea,  Silvestri. 

61— Pele's  Hair,  A.  B.  Lyons. 

20 — Basalt,  Waianae,  Oahu,  A.  B.  Lyons. 

21 — Basalt,  Koolau  Eange,  Oahu,  A.  B.  Lyons. 


SiO, 

ALA 

Fe203 

FeO 

MgO 


69 

50.76 

14.75 

2.89 

9.85 

6.54 


CaO    11.05 

Na2O   2.70 

K,O   0.88 

H20+    

TiO2   

P2O5    0.26 

MnO    0.41 

Sp.  Gr 

69— Pele's  Hair,  A.  H.  Phillips. 
70— Lava  of  May,  1883,  Silvestri. 
71 — Kilauea,  Basalt,  Silvestri. 


70 

49.20 
14.90 
4.51 
12.75 
3.90 
9.20 
1.96 
0.95 
0.10 
1.22 
0.42 
0.28 


71 

48.82 

15.22 
5.72 
9.65 
4.55 

10.40 
2.10 
0.90 

none 
1.16 

trace 
0.67 
3.01 


300 


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301 

Two  additional  analyses  are  those  of  W.  F.  Hillebrand  of  (i) 
Trachyte-obsidian,  and  (2)  Trachyte  from  Puu  Waawaa  and 
Puu  Anahulu,  made  for  Whitman  Cross. 


No. 

I 

2 

SiO2  

62  IQ 

62  II 

ALOa. 

\J^.  J.V7 

17  A.^ 

Zf 

FeoOo. 

*-/  "TO 

i  6; 

W22  Q7 

FeO  

*«WO 

2  6d. 

W 

MgO.. 

*,.  \Jljf 

o  40 

CaO  

086 

08^ 

Na2O  

828 

689 

K2O  

^  o^ 

4.82 

H2O+  

O'^O 
O  ^Q 

Cf..W 

) 

H2O—  

^•0:7 
O.I4. 

1.  60 

CO2  

O.O2 

trace 

TiO2  

O  V7 

ZrO«. 

^•o/ 

o  04 

P-O«.. 

O  Id. 

SO,.. 

none 

Cl  

Cr2O3.. 

trace 

NiO  

none 

MnO  

O  ^2 

BaO  

^'O^ 

o  o^ 

SrO  

'•'-'O 

none 

Li2O  

trace 

QO.Q^ 

"These  rocks  fall  within  the  Dosalaur  class.  Since  the  feld- 
spars predominate  over  nephelite  to  an  extreme  degree  and  there 
is  no  anorthite  in  the  norm,  the  rock  falls  in  the  perfelic  order 
germanare,  and  the  peralkalic  rang  umptekase.  Soda  strongly 
dominates  potash,  and  thus  the  glass  belongs  in  the  subrang 
umptekose,  but  is  so  close  to  the  corresponding  subrang  of  the 
Persalanes  that  the  position  is  best  shown  by  the  name  nordmar- 
kose-umptekose." — From  the  Journal  of  Geology,  Vol.  XII,  No.  6, 
October,  1904. 

E.    BIOGRAPHICAL  NOTES. 


Of  those  who  have  explored  the  volcanoes  or  have  been  identi- 
fied with  original  views  in  respect  to  vulcanism,  the  origin  of  the 


302 

earth's  physical  features  and  certain  atmospheric  phenomena  con- 
nected with  eruptions,  Titus  Coan,  Sereno  E.  Bishop,  W.  T. 
Brigham  and  C.  E.  Button  stand  out  conspicuously.  Plate  52 
shows  the  features  of  four  of  them.  Citations  from  the  publica- 
tions of  all  of  them  have  been  freely  made  in  this  book. 

James  Dwight  Dana  graduated  at  Yale  College  in  1833  J  was  a 
member  of  the  U.  S.  Exploring  Expedition  from  1836  to  1842 ; 
wrote  reports  upon  its  Geology,  upon  Crustacea,  Corals  and  Coral 
Reefs;  was  Professor  of  Geology  at  Yale  from  1855  f°r  forty 
years.  His  books  upon  Mineralogy  and  Geology  have  never  been 
excelled.  Kilauea  was  visited  by  him  in  1840,  1841  and  1887.  His 
latest  views  of  Hawaiian  Volcanoes  were  published  in  Character- 
istics of  Volcanoes,  1891. 

No  name  is  more  thoroughly  associated  with  Hawaii  than  that 
of  Dr.  Titus  Coan,  who  was  in  the  service  of  the  A.  B.  C.  F.  M. 
from  1835  to  1882.  Familiarly  he  was  known  as  the  "Bishop  of 
Kilauea."  He  wielded  a  facile  pen,  and  described  everything 
that  happened  after  1840.  Except  for  his  visits  we  could  not  have 
procured  a  satisfactory  history  of  the  volcanoes  between  1840  and 
1880.  His  papers  were  published  mostly  in  the  American  Jour- 
nal of  Science,  whose  editor,  Professor  Dana,  was  his  particular 
friend. 

William  Lowthian  Green,  (1819-1890)  born  in  London,  came 
to  Honolulu  in  1848.  Engaged  in  mercantile  pursuits  he  took 
great  interest  in  scientific  studies.  Being  a  man  of  affairs,  he  was 
repeatedly  called  into  the  service  of  the  Kingdom  of  Hawaii  be- 
tween 1874  and  1889,  acting  as  Premier  after  1880. 

The  memory  of  William  Lowthian  Green  will  be  honored 
henceforth  because  of  his  success  in  showing  why  the  earth  has 
assumed  its  present  relief.  Our  most  eminent  authors  have  here- 
tofore failed  to  discover  the  principle  regulating  the  contraction 
of  the  earth,  almost  to  the  point  of  denying  the  existence  of  any 
rational  element  in  the  development.  The  orographic  features 
have  been  clearly  made  out,  the  stability  of  continents  and  ocean 
beds  affirmed,  two  causes  of  topographic  trends  nearly  at  right 
angles  to  each  other  have  been  detected ;  but  how  do  these  facts 
match?  It  has  not  been  because  no  one  has  claimed  the  discov- 
ery; for  Elie  de  Beaumont  enunciated  many  approved  principles. 
Geologists  saw  that  his  network  of  pentagons,  as  well  as  the 
dodecahedral  lines  of  Richard  Owen,  would  not  stand  the  test 
of  a  rigorous  analysis ;  and  hence  had  no  patience  to  listen  to  the 
overtures  of  Mr.  Green  with  his  tetrahedral  symmetry. 

Upon  examining  a  terrestrial  globe  it  is  easy  to  block  out  the 


PLATE  52. 


J.  D.  Dana 
S.  E.  Bishop 


W.  L.  Green 
Titus  Coan 


303 

tetrahedron  with  the  apex  at  the  south  pole  and  the  angles  pro- 
ceeding northerly  by  the  way  of  South  America,  Africa  and  Aus- 
tralia; with  basal  angles  in  North  America,  Scandinavia  and 
northeastern  Asia,  and  a  north  polar  ocean  resting  upon  the  base 
of  the  figure.  In  a  measure  these  salient  points  have  existed  as 
projections  ever  since  the  Archean  period,  for  the  figure  must 
have  been  fashioned  prior  to  the  beginning  of  sedimentation.  The 
following  features  of  the  earth's  topography  may  be  mentioned 
as  explicable  by  this  theory  and  not  by  any  other : 

1.  Most  of  the  land  is  in  the  northern  hemisphere,  stretching 
eastwards  and  westwards  along  parallels  of  latitude. 

2.  There  are  practically  three  double  continents  north  of  the 
equator :      America,  Africa-Europe,   Asia- Australia,   with  pyra- 
midal projections  pointing  into  the  southern  ocean.     The  northern 
portions  are  broader  than  the  southern. 

3.  At  the  north  pole  the  land  is  depressed,  supporting  the 
Arctic  ocean. 

4.  The  continents  and  oceans  are  antipodal  to  each  other,  land 
being  always  opposite  the  water. 

5.  The  southern  hemisphere  is  mainly  ocean,  with  a  central 
mass  of  land  at  the  pole  and  terrestrial  projections   radiating 
from  it. 

In  the  further  study  of  details  the  hextetrahedron  is  employed, 
and  the  twenty-four  triangles  of  that  figure  are  seen  to  be  spheri- 
cal, not  plane.  Hence  the  earth's  figure  as  thus  conceived  de- 
parts very  little  from  the  sphericity  usually  ascribed  to  it.  Oblate- 
ness  is  a  feature  added  to  the  contractional  shape  by  the  earth's 
rotation,  and  modifies  the  figure  somewhat — more  particularly 
by  the  movement  of  the  water  which  must  assume  its  level.  Mr. 
Green  has  carried  out  the  details  of  the  network  of  fissures  at 
angles  of  sixty  degrees  with  each  other  only  for  the  Hawaiian 
Islands. 

There  are  two  facts  requiring  further  explanation :  first,  the 
separation  of  all  the  continents  by  a  mediterranean  line  of  de- 
pression, and  second,  the  eastward  projection  of  the  southern 
peninsula.  The  explanation  is  supplementary  to  the  presence  of 
the  tetrahedron,  as  propounded  by  Mr.  Green.  The  tetrahedron 
rotates  around  the  polar  axis.  At  first  the  different  points  moved 
with  equal  velocities ;  but  when  the  protuberances  became  accentu- 
ated the  three  upper  ones  were  retarded,  while  the  regions  south 
of  the  equator  moved  more  rapidly.  Thus  the  hextetradehron 
has  been  submitted  to  torsion,  which  has  produced  a  line  of  con- 
tinuous rupture  near  the  equator  corresponding  to  the  well  known 
volcanic  belt  or  earthquake  zone.  Hence,  it  is  easy  to  understand 


304 

why  the  lines  of  elevation  have  failed  to  correspond  exactly  to  the 
tetrahedral  angles.  Borrowing  the  language  of  crystallography, 
if  the  whole  earth  is  a  hextetrahedron,  the  line  of  rupture  is  a 
twinning  plane,  not  necessarily  coincident  with  any  element  of  the 
crystal.  The  position  of  this  plane  is  further  justified  by  referring 
to  the  tides  produced  in  the  primitive  earth  while  the  crust  was 
still  thin. 

The  equatorial  bulge  of  the  earth  is  understood  to  produce  the 
precession  of  the  equinoxes.  As  the  three  northern  protuber- 
ances must  have  some  effect  for  similar  reasons,  Mr.  Green  finds 
it  in  the  inclination  of  the  ecliptic. 

M.  de  Lapparent,  in  adopting  this  theory,  finds  in  it  the  ex- 
planation of  the  excess  of  the  attraction  of  gravitation  in  the 
northern  hemisphere.  The  sea  is  attracted  by  these  three  pro- 
tuberances; but  in  the  middle  of  each  of  the  oceanic  depressions 
the  surface  of  the  water  would  tend  to  flatten,  as  the  latter  is 
nearer  the  center  of  the  earth. 

In  studying  the  collapse  of  spherical  bodies,  Mr.  Green  quotes 
from  experiments  of  Mr.  Fairbairn.  (Useful  information  for 
engineers.)  Hollow  glass  spheres  were  reduced  to  fragments, 
and  nothing  could  be  learned  as  to  the  method  of  their  collapse. 
Rubber  spheres  immersed  in  water  tend  towards  a  tetrahedron. 
Soap  bubbles  in  the  air  present  a  slightly  tetrahedroidal  form 
when  compared  with  air  bubbles  in  water.  Some  organic  bodies, 
like  nuts  and  tetraspores,  exhibit  shapes  indicative  of  a  collapsing 
tetrahedral  body.  Cylinders  show  very  satisfactorily  a  flat- 
tening from  three  different  directions  after  collapse. 

The  sphere  of  all  regular  solids  embraces  the  greatest  volume 
with  the  smallest  surface.  The  tetrahedron  has  greatest  surface 
with  the  smallest  volume.  Hence  a  collapsing  spherical  envelope 
"tends  to  adopt  that  form  which  most  quickly  and  permanently 
disposes  of  the  'excess  of  its  linear  dimensions  about  the  dimin- 
ishing volume  of  the  contents  which  support  it."  The  force  pro- 
ducing collapse  is  simply  the  weight  of  the  earth's  crust. 

PUBLISHED   WRITINGS   OF   W.    L.    GREEN. 

1.  Extinct  coast  craters  of  Oahu.     Sandwich  Islands  monthly, 
Nos.  i,  2,  and  3,  for  April,  May,  and  June,  1856. 

2.  On  the  cause  of  the  pyramidal  form  of  the  outline  of  the 
southern  extremities  of  the  great  continents  and  peninsulas  of  the 
globe.     Edinburgh  New  Philosophical  Journal,  1857. 

3.  Vestiges  of  the  molten  globe.     Part  L     London,  1875. 

4.  The  southern  tendency  of  peninsulas  in  connection  with  the 


305 

remarkable  preponderance  of  ocean  in  the  southern  hemisphere. 
Letter  to  Sir  John  Lubbock.     Honolulu,  March,  1877. 

5.  The  Hawaiian  Islands  on  the  reseau  triangulaire.      Letter 
to  W.  T.  Brigham.    Written,  April,  1876,  printed  1877,  Boston. 

6.  The  volcanic  problem  from  the  point  of  view  of  Hawaiian 
volcanoes,  Honolulu,  1884. 

7.  Vestiges  of  the  molten  globe.     Part  II.     Honolulu,  1887. 

8.  Notice   of   Prof.   J.   D.   Dana's   "Characteristics   of   Vol- 
canoes," Honolulu,  1890. 

Sereno  Edwards  Bishop  (1827-1909),  graduated  at  Amherst 
College  in  1846  and  at  Auburn  Theological  Seminary  in  1851.  His 
father,  Rev.  Artemas  Bishop,  was  one  of  the  first  missionaries 
sent  out  by  the  A.  B.  C.  F.  M.,  1822-1873.  Returning  to  his  na- 
tive islands  he  was  engaged  in  missionary  occupations  upon  Maui 
for  thirteen  years,  when  he  changed  his  residence  to  Honolulu, 
supporting  himself  by  land  surveying  and  writing  for  the  press. 
He  was  a  stout  champion  of  the  "faith  once  delivered  to  the 
saints,"  believing  the  Bible  to  be  the  Word  of  God,  to  be  inter- 
preted in  the  light  of  common  sense.  He  had  clear  views  of  pub- 
lic duty,  and  never  hesitated  to  say  what  he  believed  to  be  right. 
Between  1885  and  1895  his  editorials  upon  vital  questions  were 
veritable  thunderbolts. 

He  perceived  the  true  relation  between  the  famous  sky  glows, 
atmospheric  haze  and  solar  coronas  and  volcanic  eruptions;  and 
because  he  was  its  first  observer  one  of  these  phenomena  has 
received  the  name  of  the  Bishop's  Ring.  December  3ist,  1908, 
almost  the  last  day  previous  to  his  final  sickness,  he  dis- 
cerned all  these  atmospheric  phenomena  in  the  skies  and  recog- 
nized them  as  indicative  of  a  great  volcanic  eruption  in  some 
distant  part  of  the  earth.  Our  record  of  the  history  of  Kilauea 
and  Mauna  Loa  shows  that  his  statements  have  been  freely  quoted 
and  accepted. 

William  T.  Brigham  graduated  at  Harvard  College  in  1862. 
Was  an  instructor  of  botany  at  his  Alma  Mater  and  became  much 
interested  in  volcanoes  and  earthquakes,  early  compiling  a  paper 
upon  the  earthquakes  of  New  England.  In  1864-5  ne  made  a 
careful  survey  and  study  of  Kilauea,  and  ascended  Mauna  Loa. 
The  results  of  this  work  made  a  quarto  volume  126  pages, 
published  in  the  Memoirs  of  the  Boston  Society  of  Natural 
History  in  1868;  which  include  besides  his  own  survey  a  history 
of  the  Hawaiian  eruptions  and  a  general  review  of  the  geology  of 
the  islands.  A  supplement  added  descriptions  of  the  eruption  of 
1868.  Later  he  visited  Central  America  and  published  a  book 
upon  the  volcanoes  of  Guatemala.  He  visited  Mauna  Loa  again 


306 

in  1880.  In  1888  he  was  chosen  to  be  the  Director  of  the  Bernice 
Pauahi  Bishop  Museum  in  Honolulu.  He  received  the  honorary 
degree  of  Doctor  of  Science  from  Columbia  in  1894.  No  scientific 
man  has  paid  more  visits  to  Kilauea  than  Dr.  Brigham,  amounting 
to  more  than  two  score,  extending  over  forty-four  years ;  and  no 
one  is  better  qualified  by  his  natural  ability  and  opportunities  for 
observation  to  describe  the  vicissitudes  through  which  our  noted 
volcanoes  have  passed.  His  latest  recommendation  is  that  a 
permanent  scientific  observatory  be  established  at  Kilauea,  where 
notes  may  be  taken  with  the  best  instruments,  of  earthquakes,  the 
diurnal  changes  of  level  of  the  dome  of  Halemaumau,  the  tem- 
peratures of  the  molten  lava  and  steam  jets,  the  analyses  of  the 
ejecta  and  spectroscopic  investigations. 

Clarence  E.  Dutton  graduated  at  Yale  College  in  1860.  He 
joined  the  Ordnance  Corps  of  the  United  States  Army  in  1863. 
He  became  First  Lieutenant  in  1867,  Captain  in  1873,  and  retired 
in  1890  with  the  rank  of  Major.  For  several  years  he  was  con- 
nected with  the  Geological  Survey  and  presented  reports  upon 
the  Geology  of  the  High  Plateaus  of  Utah,  the  Tertiary  History 
of  the  Grand  Canyon  District,  the  Charleston  Earthquake,  Mt. 
Taylor  and  the  Zuni  Plateau.  His  familiarity  with  igneous 
rocks  rendered  his  report  upon  the  Hawaiian  Volcanoes  of  special 
importance.  Since  his  retirement  he  has  published  a  book  upon 
Earthquakes. 


PAGE. 

Aa 127,  136,  150,  280 

Conditions    producing 282 

Found  in  old  formations 283 

Achatinellidal  oragate  shells 16,     40 

Alexander,  J.  M 120,  121,  123,  219 

Alexander,  W.  D 51,  57,  100,  207,  216,  253 

Analyses  of  rocks 298 

Artesian  conditions  23 

Wells 22 

Areas  of  flows 284 

Ascensive  action 266 

Ash,  black  in  Oahu 34 

Ashes,  volcanic  153,  165,  169 

Baker,  A.  S 143 

Baker,  E.  P 

90,  110,  117,  121,  124,  127,  128,  148,  226,  227,  231,  232,  235,  282 

Baldwin,  C.  W 133,  135 

Baldwin,  E.  D 81,  135,  138,  157,  163,  169,  208,  250,  253,  258 

Basalt  284,  298 

Basalt  volcanoes 284 

Bingham,  H 181 

Bingham,  H.,  Jr 212 

Bird  Island 9 

Bird  reservation  8 

Bird,  Miss  I.  L 112,  215 

Bishop,  S.  E 9,  38,  82,  94,  97,  124,  142,  148,  174,  232,  241,  282 

Biographical  sketch  of 305 

Black  ledge  in  Kilauea 

172,  174,  180,  193,  199,  204,  210,  214,  226,  246,  256,  257,  273 

Blowhole  (spiracle) 172,  181 

Bomb 51,  126,  165 

Brigham,  W.  T 

85,  104,      Y,  116,  158,  169,  185,  200,  203,  219,  249,  254,  282 

Biographical  sketch  if 305 

Bryan,  W.  A 249,  255 

Byron,  Lord 179 

Caldera,  definition  of 221 

Development   of 153 

Castle,  W.  K 133,  136,  225,  229,  232,  235,  236,  248,  261 

Chlorides,  scarce  in  Hawaii 264,  286 

Common    at    Vesuvius 298,  286 

Clinkers 84 

Clouds  over  lava 128,  137,  138 

Coan,  T 84-86,  89,  94,  100,  105, 

106,  110,  111,  114-7,  188,  198,  205,  208,  210,  212,  214,  215,  219,  266,  291 


3o8 

PAGE. 

Biographical  sketch  of 302 

Eruption  of  1852  versified 90 

Coan,  T.  M 199,  201 

Colsten,  A.  L 244 

Congressmen  visit  Kilauea 251 

Cook,  Captain 57 

Coral  reef 27 

Cross,  W 54,  246,  301 

Cummings,  Miss  C.  F.  Gordon 218-9 

Ball,  W.  H , 32,     39 

Damon,  S.  C 202,  221 

Dana,  J.  D 12,  17,  19,  29,  96,  124,  167,  174,  193,  197,  229,  282 

Biographical  sketch  of 302 

Early  conclusions  of 194 

Dana  Lake  230,  232 

Dewey  crater    132,  269,  298 

Diamond  Head 36,  39,     42 

Dibble,  L 165 

Dodge,  F.  S 130,  138,  183,  229,  235,  236,  240,  251,  260 

Dole,  S.  B 217 

Douglas,   D 81,  386 

Button,  C.  E 19,  119,  158,  204,  221,  232 

Biographical    sketch    of 306 

Earthquakes  in  Hawaii 291 

Upon  Mauna  Loa 80,  104,  110,  114,  117,  123,  132,  138,  143,  157 

In  Kilauea 163,  165,  182,  188,  207,  226 

Waves 107,  111,  116,  291,  294 

Electric  discharges  on  Mauna  Loa 121 

Ellis,  W 56,  162 

Emerson,  J.  S 123,  127,  149,  154,  226 

Emerson,   N.   B 221,  253 

Enuhe 150 

Erosion    19,  47,     49 

Eruptions,  prehistoric   160,  ]  64,  271 

Explosive    167,  268 

Hawaiian  type   of 262 

More  abundant  in  rainy  months 271 

Quiet    268 

Submarine 77,  115,  268 

Tabulated 270 

Upon  Mauna  Loa,  early 80 

In  1832 80 

1843  84 

1851  85 

1852  86 

1855  94 

1859  100 

1868  104 

1877  115 

1880 116 

1887  123 

1896  128 


309 

PAGE. 

1899   132 

1903    138 

1907   142 

Eruptions  at  Kilauea  in  1790 165 

1823    163,  170 

1832    182 

1840    188,  196 

1849   201 

1855   201 

1868   206 

1879   218 

1886   226 

1891    232 

1894   236 

1902    245 

1908    252 

Fairchild,   G.   H 254 

Fire  fountains 242,  253,  275 

Fissures  on  Kilauea 197,  209 

Fissures  on  Mauna  Loa 95,  97,  108,  136,  169 

Flames  in  Kilauea 220,  224 

Floating    islands 187,  202,  227,  252 

Forbes,  A.  0 216,  219,  224 

Fornander,  A 106,  207 

Freshwater  springs  in  ocean 26 

French  Frigate  Shoal 9 

Friaedlander,  Dr 128 

Friend 93,  97,  146,  202 

Frear,  W.  F 240 

Fuller.    H 89,  93 

Fusibility  of  lavas 284 

Gardiner  Island    9 

Geomorphy    19 

Globijrerina    oo/e 3.  4 

Goodrich.    Joseph 53,  80,  182 

Green,  W.  L. 81,  102-4,  112,  114-5,  123,  137,  156,  276,  278,  282,  297 

Biographical  sketch  of 302 

On  origin  of  earth 's  features 302 

Gulick,  O.  F 205 

Guppy,  H.  B 130 

Haleakala    47,  152 

Halemauman,  name  first  used 187 

•significance   of 235 

Ts  it  a  fixture? 260 

Dome  over 200 

Series  of  fire-lakes 258 

General  history  of 193.  198.  200-6.  210-260 

Maps  of 226,  231,  235,  240,  244,  251,  253 

TTamakua  49 

Hawaii,  physical  features  of 48 


310 

PAGE. 

Hawaiian    archipelago 1 

Types  of  volcanic  action 262 

Summarized   286 

Hilgard,  J.   E 293 

High  islands 9,  10 

Hillebrand,  Dr.  W 14,  108,  207,  210 

Hillebrand,  Dr.,  son 55,  301 

Hitchcock,  C.  H 109,  117,  120,  132,  149,  223,  256,  286 

Hitchcock,  D.  H 53,  110,  111,  118,  124,  205,  212-5,  226,  245,  281 

Hosmer,  E.  S 55 

Hualalai 62,158 

Ingalls,  A.  B 133,  135,  138 

Irrigation    47 

Jones,  George 123,  212,  261 

Journal  of  Mission  Deputation 162 

Judd,  Dr.  G.  P 82,  192,  206 

Kaala 17 

Kahuku    106,  123 

Kahoolawe    45 

Kalmuki    41 

Kapapala    117 

Kapiolani     176,  260 

Kapu — Taboo    62 

Kauai 11,  13,     14 

Keamoku   57 

Keamuku  57,  281 

Keanakakoi 167,  217,  224 

On  Mauna  Kea 52 

Keokeo    148 

Kilauea  114,  117,  128,  129,  146 

Eruptions  from;  See  Eruptions. 

Altitudes  at   257 

A  basalt  volcano 284 

Aseensive  action  in 266 

Ashes   from 168 

Described  by  Ellis 162,  171 

Relief  of  1823 173 

Noticed  by  Vancouver 161 

Menzies    161 

Visited  by  Lord  Byron 179 

Present  conditions  in 256 

History  of  exploration  of 160 

Panorama  of   222 

Rocks   of 173,  298 

Sympathy  with  Mauna  Loa 276 

Drayton  's  view  of 191 

Maps  of 192,  199,  204,  215 

Contrasted  with  other  volcanoes 286 

Kilauea  iki 183,  185,  196,  211,  249 

King,   Clarence 213 

Kluegel,  C.  H 134 


PAGE. 

Kneeland,   S 112,  214 

Koahuanui    18 

Kohala   48 

Koolau   18,  20 

Laeloa   craters 31,  33 

Langill,  C.  C 134 

Lanai 45 

Lauhala-pandanus    16 

Laysan  Island  6 

Lake  Kilauea  216,  220 

Lapilli  51,  269 

Ledyard,  J 58 

Lentz,  W.  H 218-220,  261 

Libbey   119,  297 

Lindgren,  W 25 

Little  Beggar 225,  258 

Logan,    D 129 

Loomis,  E 179 

Low  islands   4 

Lycurgus,  D 251,  261 

Lydgate,  J.  M Ill,  114,  215,  220 

Lyman,  C.  S 199,  226 

Lyman,  D.  B 90 

Lyman,  F.  S 105,  210 

Lyman,  K 148 

Lyman,  S.  S 231,  290 

Lyons,  A.  B 231,  233,  298 

Lyons,  C.  J 218 

Maiden,  Lieut 180 

Map  of  Midway  Islands 5 

Bird  Reservation 8 

Diamond  Head 35 

Hawaii    48 

Kilauea,    1841 192 

Kilauea,    1846 199 

Kilauea,    1865 204 

Kilauea,    1886 

Kilauea,  showing  ashes 168 

Map  relief,  of  Kauai 11 

Oahu  17 

Maui    45 

Kilauea  173 

Mohokea  149 

Maui  45 

Mauna  Kea   50 

Mauna  Loa,  exploration  of 56 

First  ascent  of 63 

Altitude   56,  78 

Fissures  on 136" 

Eruptions  from;  See  Eruptions. 

Menzies,  A 62 

Midway  Islands 4 


312 

PAQH. 

Makawao    150,  166 

Maxwell,  W 24 

Molokai 44 

Monte  Nucro 37 

Mountain  sickness  130 

Moon,  volcanoes  of 287 

Separation  of  from  earth 296 

Mokuaweoweo   56 

Plans  of 83,  114,  120 

Fountains  in 112,  116,  129,  130 

Panorama  of 120 

Clouds  over 128,  137,  138 

Natives '    pyrotechnics 143 

IN  ecker  Island 9 

New  Lake 220,  224-6 

Nohoa  Island 9 

Niihau  Island 10 

Nordhoff,  C 211,  214,  224,  235 

Oahu  17 

Mountains  of 17 

Artesian  wells 23 

Black  ash  34 

Coral  reef 27 

Erosion  in 29 

Geological  history  of 42 

Tertiary  in 29 

Tuff  cones 33 

Observatory,  seismological 290 

Ocean  islands 2 

Olivine   109,  119 

O'Shaughnessy,  W.  M 245,  274 

Pacific  Ocean  marks  the  place  where  moon  originated 296 

Pahala    158 

Pahoehoe   280 

Palaganite    36 

Pali    18,  20,  98 

Panorama  of  Kilauea 222 

Mokuaweoweo 120 

Pearl  Harbor  series 29 

Pele 148,  164,  175 

Belief  in 175 

Story  of 172 

Pele's  Hair 116,  174,  182,  194,  202,  264 

Pele"e 286 

Pendulum  peak 83 

Observations    54 

Periodicity  of  eruptions 271,  279 

Pickering,  W.  H 159,  184,  287,  296 

Pit  craters 196 

Plans  of  Mokuaweoweo 83,  114,  120 

Kilauea 192,  199,  204,  215 

Halemaumau 226,  231,  235,  240,  244,  251,  253 


313 

PAG*. 

Plants,  development  of 14 

Pliocene   32,  41 

Pohaku  o  Hanalei 123 

Poll  o  Keawe 183,  185 

Pope,  W.  T 11,  45,  129 

Preston,  E.  D 47,  51 

Projectile  action 265 

Pua'kala   53,  155 

Pumice  168 

Punchbowl    34,  39 

Punaluu 139,  149,  152,  156 

Puu   Keokeo 148,  155 

Puu  Waawaa 54,  159 

Kecord  book  of  Volcano  House 265 

Belief  map 45 

Rocks,  analyses  of 298 

Khyolite    284 

Sand  hills 197 

Scrope,   G.  Poulett 80,  181 

Seismograph    291 

Severance,  L » Ill,  294 

Snow  on  Mauna  Loa 121 

South  Lake 216-223 

Spectroscope,  use  of 216,  244,  297 

Sphere  of  volcanic  activity 262 

Spine  of  Pele"e  possibly  duplicated 152,  267 

Spiracles 159,  172,  181 

Spring  waters  of  Hawaii 132 

Stalactites  and  stalagmites 119,  136,  258,  300 

Stewart,  C.  S 179 

Stones  thrown  out  near  Keanakakoi • .   167 

Mokuaweoweo  141 

Uwekahuna 167 

Strzclecki   Count 187 

Stromboli    28? 

Su  bmergence 42*. 

Sulphur  banks 169,  173,  195,  204,  258; 

Sylvestri,  analyses  of  rocks 298 

Sympathy  between  Kilauea  and  Mauna  Loa 276 

Talus-breccia   40 

Tarawera   286 

Tennyson,  poem  on  Kapiolani 177 

Tertiary   29 

Thrum  Js  Annual 63,  129,  143,  248 

Thurston,  L.  A 127,  219,  231,  232,  233,  237,  244,  245,  249,  250-2 

Tittman,  O.  H 293 

Tree  moulds  and  stumps 147 

Trachyte  55,  284 

ITmi  fs  road .    154 


314 

PAGE. 

Vancouver,    Gr 62 

Van  Slyke,  L.  L 228 

Vandry    101 

Vesiculation 265 

Vesuvius  224,  269,  280,  286 

Violet  trees 15 

Volcanic  ashes 153,  165,  169 

Cones,  shapes  of 285 

Islands 

Volcano  Houses 260 

Volcanoes,  as  safety  valves 279 

Classification  of 262 

Lunar  compared  with  Hawaiian 287 

Ordinary  work  of 263 

Water  in  molten  lava 264 

Dissociated  by  intense  heat 265 

Waipio,  Oahu 29 

W aipio,  Hawaii 49 

Weld,  F.  A 94,  100,  202 

Westervelt,  W.  S 85,  148,  253 

Whitney,  H.  M 107,  216-8,  225,  232,  244 

Wilkes,  C.  Captain  (later  Admiral) 82 

On  Kilauea  191,  196 

On  Mauna  Loa 82 

Wood  E 133,  134,  138 

Zones  of  influence - 132 


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